Rassie Erasmus Plots Next Bok Revolution: Big Calls, Big Props, and Bigger Plans for 2027

A key element of being a successful coach is getting selection right and Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has a very good record when it comes to his punts shining at international level. And he says 2025 is the year when he starts to finalise who the players will be that will lead South Africa into battle for an unprecedented hat-trick of World Cup titles in 2027.

Erasmus, as befits a coach many have described as being a "rugby genius", has also seen many left-field picks succeed, which is credit to the efficiency of the Springbok management in tracking player metrics from all over the world and also his ability to see diamonds in the rough.

One such selection could be Gauteng Lions tight head prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye, whose 148kg frame raises eyebrows. But the 26-year-old has been one of his franchise's best players and, for such a big man, he has a remarkable work-rate and good soft-skills too, so much so that he is tipped to pull on the Springbok jersey for the first time in the non-cap international against the Barbarians in Cape Town on June 28.

"It's like when people say certain players are too small, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse for example. But they have done very well at the highest level. I look at the actions of the player, not what he looks like."

"Asenathi makes more tackles than most tightheads, he scrums very well, he carries hard and he has good hands. He shows that you can't judge a book by its cover and he works very hard. He has made massive progress since he has been with us," Erasmus told sportsboom.co.za.

Down with injury

Given that it is a non-cap international against the Barbarians and there are several first-choice players down with injury, there could be a few new faces in the first Springbok team of the year, but Erasmus stressed the importance of making a good start to 2025.

"We're not really concentrating on the World Cup yet two years out, although in 2018 I was already building for 2023. This year is about identifying players who can win you World Cups and seeing how many opportunities you can give them to play. I want to look at them through that Test match lens."

"It's very difficult to judge players at their clubs, because you don't know what they are being coached to do, how that team wants them to play. And I don't want to give someone one or two Test caps, I would love it if everyone can get eight caps or more. Our average age should be around 28/29 going into the next World Cup."

"But winning is also important, especially since at the end of this year they will make the draw for the World Cup. We also want people to get behind us and support us. So a solid start to the year is important."

"The youngsters don't know all the old stuff we've done, so we need the core to be nice and stable. So we could see a guy like Lood de Jager, who knows our system, make his return, along with a very settled backline, although we'll probably rotate the scrumhalves. We want to keep to how we want to play, even though we are playing the Barbarians."

"The BaaBaas match is a bit slippery because usually we love to analyse our opposition, find out where their strengths and weaknesses are, but obviously we can't do that with the Barbarians. For them you have to analyse individuals and they also announce their final team very late. So the message to the players will be to play what you see in front of you and enjoy yourself. Hopefully we can get through that game without any mental scarring.," Erasmus concluded.