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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will use the once-off clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires next weekend as preparation for the series against rivals New Zealand.
The Boks take on the All Blacks in four hugely anticipated Tests of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series in Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Baltimore, US, during August and September.
Speaking after the team assembled in Johannesburg, Erasmus said their priority this week is to prepare as well as possible for their clash against Los Pumas.
He indicated they will have the All Blacks at the back of their minds.
Erasmus will announce the squad to travel to Argentina on Saturday, and those not travelling will return to their training base in Johannesburg to begin preparations for the All Blacks.
Then there’s the bigger picture, the Rugby World Cup, which is close to a year away, but you also have to respect the team you play next week.
— Bok coach Rassie Erasmus
“First and foremost, we want to beat Argentina. Just like every other team, we want to win every Test match we play,” said Erasmus.
“Then there’s the bigger picture: the Rugby World Cup, which is close to a year away — but you also have to respect the team you play next week.”
With 10 players returning from a stint on the sidelines due to injuries, Erasmus gave an update on the players’ availability for next week’s match against Los Pumas.
Los Pumas, who have played annually against the Springboks in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, are also participating in the Nations Championship.
“There are only two guys who won’t be available due to longer-term injuries and they are Ox Nche and Franco Mostert,” said Erasmus. “Apart from them, everyone is ready to play.
“I wouldn’t say it is ideal [that they are all returning from injury]. We would have liked the guys not to be injured and to have been able to manage their time right from the start. The same applied to André [Esterhuizen], Eben [Etzebeth], Wilco [Louw] and Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], but this game is a really good opportunity.
“Argentina are a quality team, and you’ll quickly see who is ready to play against New Zealand two weeks later. That said, this match wasn’t planned with that reason in mind; it was always about honouring our relationship with Argentina. But yes, most of those guys will be involved.”
Taking players on tour without being able to give them a game for them franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing. But we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests
— Rassie Erasmus
When quizzed about how he planned to manage his squad going into the RGR series once the Argentina touring squad arrives back in South Africa, the Bok coach said: “The big thing is we don’t want to keep a guy with us and not use him during the All Black series. That’s why we’re giving some guys the opportunity to play for their franchises.
“Taking players on tour without being able to give them a game for them franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing. But we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests.
“So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we’ll try to do so. We might also release more players from the group if they don’t get enough game time in the Springbok Tests.”
Erasmus kept the media on track with the team’s objectives, as opposed to looking too far ahead at the RGR series after the announcement of the All Blacks touring squad, and said they would delve deeper into their squad closer to the series against New Zealand.
“I saw the squad was announced and had a brief look at it, but at this stage we’re all locked in for Argentina. There’ll be a group that stays behind and starts focusing on them because we can only take a certain number of players to Argentina. But I haven’t studied it [their squad] enough.
“That said, it sounds like everybody’s really excited about the squad and the way they’ve played in the first three [Nations Championship] games, and we know it’s going to be tough — but Argentina is our first goal right now.”
Erasmus is set to finalise his official RGR squad after the team’s return from Argentina.
TimesLIVE
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