Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has shed light on his team selection for France, with hooker Johan Grobbelaar’s inclusion on the bench coming amid concerns over Malcolm Marx’s fitness.
Marx remains a key figure for South Africa but his recurring injury issues have forced Erasmus to look build further depth in his hooking talent pool, which includes the likes of Bongi Mbonambi, Andre-Hugo Venter and Marnus van der Merwe.
“Yes,” said Erasmus when asked by Rugby365 whether Grobbelaar was ready to step up as Marx’s long-term deputy. “When you look at the way we have done things, we’ve given Andre-Hugo a chance, and he didn’t disappoint; we won that game against Portugal. So he is there.”
The Springbok coach said his staff were mindful of Marx’s vulnerability and had worked to build depth through a mix of youth and versatility.
“We always have Bongi [Mbonambi] in the back of our minds and know when there are crunch games, we can press on his number,” Erasmus said. “Yes, we’ve got a few caps into Marnus, and we played against the All Blacks with Marnus, and he had one of the last turnover steals there.
“We know that Malcolm can get injured at any time. We’ve got Jan-Hendrik [Wessels] who can play loosehead and hooker for us. So that’s five already.
“And again, we are trying to stay in the present and win, but we also want to think about the future — about the 2027 World Cup.”
Erasmus said the long-term planning that has underpinned South Africa’s recent success remained central to their current squad rotation.
“These kinds of games build confidence for players to make another step up. And we’ve tried it with most of our players,” he explained. “There’s always first a Tier Two team, then maybe a team that ranks seventh or eighth in the world, and then maybe into a pressure cooker.
“And then onto the bigger stage, like the French. And with him [Johan Grobbelaar] having Gerhard [Steenekamp] and Wilco [Louw] next to him, whom he scrums with all the time [at the Bulls], and Ruan [Nortje] coming off the bench with RG [Snyman], he is pretty used to those guys as well.
“And he is 27, he is really fit, and he has done nothing to disappoint us. So maybe just get through this game, then we know we’ve got five or six hookers that we can bank on when we go to the World Cup.”
Erasmus also elaborated on the decision to include Andre Esterhuizen on the bench instead of Kwagga Smith, describing the move as a matter of balance and flexibility.
“The bad thing for Andre was to get into the match-23 when he was just covering No.12,” said Erasmus. “We have Damian de Allende, Damian Willemse, Handre [Pollard], who can all play 12, Ethan [Hooker] can play 12, Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] can play 12, as can Lukhanyo [Am].
“So for Andre to make the match-23 with his athleticism and physicality, it’s either he starts or he is out, because you seldom put a No.12 on the bench.
“He has played 12 all his life, but we’ve slowly given him a trial against a Tier Two team, against the Barbarians, and then against Japan, fully going into six. And he is now used to all the mauling and line-out calls.”
Erasmus said Esterhuizen’s inclusion was based on the tactical demands of the clash with France.
“If the game goes according to plan against the French with a 6-2 split with massive men, the Boks would probably need Esterhuizen among the forwards,” he said. “But if there’s an early injury at 12, he will probably go to 12. That is just the option that really helps us, and that is where a guy like Kwagga [Smith] missed out.
“If Kwagga was playing, we would’ve taken some chances if we had an injury at wing, then Kwagga would’ve had to help out there. And he did it wonderfully before. But now you have a true backline player who can play six and eight.”
