Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus just can’t seem to get it right while on their tour of the UK.
With the Boks having won only two out of their four matches, Erasmus has now selected no less than 12 South African players in his Barbarians squad for Saturday’s clash against Argentina at Twickenham at 4.30 pm.
Among his eight SA starters are captain Siya Kolisi and veteran hooker Schalk Brits.
Now let’s start with Kolisi.
For a man that has played a lot of rugby this year, the flank certainly looked like he is in need of a well-earned rest as December approaches.
But Erasmus, who could have used this opportunity to give Sikhumbuzo Notshe a chance to start and show the world what he can do with ball in hand, opted to push his skipper one last time.
And Rassie should have realised that his skipper would probably have been better off taking some much needed R&R.
In the case of Brits, the Bok coach has finally given his “retired” hooker some game time.
Having played one game for the Boks since his return from retirement in June, Brits needs this game to show the SA public and his new Bulls teammates that he still has what it takes to perform at the top level.
Then there’s Hanrde Pollard at flyhalf and Elton Jantjies warming the bench for him even at the Barbarians.
Again, Erasmus should have probably given Jantjies the confidence by starting him in a match that doesn’t count as a Test.
Anyway, with the freedom that comes with playing for the Baabaas, let’s see what our Boks can do
Barbarians:
15 Jack Debreczeni (Chiefs), 14 Tommaso Benvenuti (Italy), 13 Tom English (Australia), 12 Damian de Allende (SA), 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi (SA), 10 Handre Pollard (SA), 9 Leon Fukofuka (Tonga), 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon (Argentina), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (SA), 6 Siya Kolisi (SA), 5 Lood de Jager (SA), 4 Luke Jones (Australia), 3 Trevor Nyakane (SA), 2 Schalk Brits (SA), 1 Wyatt Crockett (New Zealand, captain).
Replacements:
16 Steven Kitshoff (SA), 17 Malcolm Marx (SA), 18 Anton Peikrishvili (Georgia), 19 Sikhumbuzo Notshe (SA), 20 Jordan Taufua (Crusaders), 21 Frank Lomani (Fiji), 22 Jesse Kriel (SA), 23 Elton Jantjies (SA).