The Springboks are kicking their succession planning into high gear when a team made up of largely fringe players takes on Portugal in a one-off Test match at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Saturday evening.
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus named a side mixed with experience and youth for the game, with World Cup winners like Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Andre Esterhuizen, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Cobus Reinach, Manie Libbok and Thomas du Toit all in the starting XV.
However he also picked Salmaan Moerat, who has just six Bok caps to his name, as captain for the match , while there are three debutants in the starting XV, namely Phepsi Buthelezi, Johan Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, as well as four more debutants on the bench.
Not a B teamErasmus explained that they had named the team with a firm view on the current World Cup cycle, leading up to the showpiece event in Australia in 2027, and claimed that this team was not a B team and would be able to give the side that played against Ireland a run for their money.
We have tried to do our succession planning and we tried to make sure that our loss against Ireland doesnt influence our mindset. In 2020 if we had been able to play rugby we would have done the same thing. Now we have the opportunity to do that and we must stick with it, said Erasmus.
