RUGBY NEWS - Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to play close to his strongest form side as the team touches down in Buenos Aires ahead of their bid for this year’s Castle Lager Rugby Championship title.
The team left in two separate batches from Auckland to Buenos Aires over the weekend, the first batch containing Erasmus and much for the team for the clash while the rest followed on Saturday, with the side now getting down to business before heading to Salta on Thursday for the game.
But with Erasmus’ team having their best chance in a decade to claim the Rugby Championship title, all indications are that he will select his strongest form side for the clash, and leave the experimentation to Loftus Versfeld next week when the sides meet again in a friendly encounter.
This means the hopes of a halfback like Cobus Reinach and Marcell Coetzee finding some game time are probably not going to be realised before Loftus, although Erasmus will surely give them a run in that game.
The same goes for Marco van Staden and Dillyn Lleyds, both playing Currie Cup at the moment, but both will probably feature in the Loftus game in some capacity, in order to give them a shot at impressing the coach.
But back to Salta and the mission the Boks are on this week.
In essence it couldn’t be clearer. Win with a bonus point and secure the Championship outright, or win without a bonus point and look to points difference. Lose and watch it all slip away.
Erasmus’ hopes of a momentum boost and confidence before the World Cup couldn’t be better aided than a Rugby Championship victory, even though history has told us that this certainly isn’t a good guide for World Cup form.
But for a Bok side that has struggled over the past few years, the renewed interest and good feeling surrounding the team is translated into confidence and with a target now to aim for, they certainly won’t lack motivation in Salta this weekend.
The venue is still an uncharacteristically difficult one for the Boks in recent times, and refereeing interpretations under pressure from the home crowd will be just one factor the Boks will need to get over. The other is that South African teams have struggled to find their rhythm in Argentina, with just the Lions winning in the last two seasons there in Super Rugby. Hardly a record that will give confidence.
All that may mean nothing though as the Boks know they can claim the title with a bonus point victory, and that may be enough to spur them on.
