Rassie Erasmus has fired the first shot in the build-up to rugby's most anticipated series of the year, naming a 43-man Springboks squad and recalling ten senior players for the Test against Argentina and the "Rugby's Greatest Rivalry" showdown with the All Blacks.
Fresh from a clean sweep of England, Scotland and Wales in the Nations Championship, the world champions now turn to Los Pumas in Buenos Aires on August 8 before New Zealand arrive in South Africa for a four-Test tour. Among the returning names are lock Eben Etzebeth, captain Siya Kolisi, fly-halves Handre Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Canan Moodie and Andre Esterhuizen — all back after spells on the sidelines.
Rather than carry the full group to Argentina, Erasmus has split his squad in two. "We put a lot of thought into how we will manage the entire group of players to give everyone a chance to stake a claim," he explained. "We decided that splitting the squad into two groups will be best for the Springbok team and the players to play their way into the squad."
The coach said the returning players' fitness would dictate the final travelling party. "Some players are returning from injury and need some valuable game time, so depending on how they progress from their injuries during next week's training camp, we will decide who we will take to Argentina, while the other guys in the 43-man squad will remain behind in Johannesburg to begin preparing for the Tests against New Zealand."
Five players — Stormers trio Ntuthuko Mchunu, Evan Roos and Andre-Hugo Venter, Bulls scrum-half Embrose Papier and Sharks wing Jaco Williams — have been released to their franchises, but could still face the All Blacks in midweek tour games. "The players released to their franchises will also have an opportunity to face the All Blacks in their respective midweek games if they are selected, which will be invaluable," Erasmus said. "We see this as a win-win situation for the team and players."
He was wary of Argentina, a side that pushed several northern-hemisphere teams during the Nations Championship. "They are a quality team, and they have proved that in our previous clashes," Erasmus said.
The tour looms as a defining examination for Dave Rennie's rebuilding All Blacks, who beat France, Italy and Ireland to top the Nations Championship's southern standings on points difference. New Zealand will play all four United Rugby Championship-based South African franchises before three Tests against the Springboks in Johannesburg (twice) and Cape Town, with a fourth and final match in Baltimore on September 12.
All Blacks attack coach Mike Blair is under no illusions about the scale of the task. "It's going to be a big step up for us, so we're going to have to evolve and improve again," he said, praising a Springboks side that has "mixed and matched their teams without seemingly skipping a beat".
Blair also expects a hostile reception across a marathon tour. "There'll be, I'm not too sure, 80-ish of management and players and stuff, and it'll be literally us against the rest of South Africa, so we'll have to be tight," he said. "There'll be some testing times."
Despite the champions' recent dominance, Blair backed his team to win the series. "I believe so," he said when asked. "We're also conscious of how impressive South Africa has been in these Test matches. Our challenge is how we get the guys rugby, how we get cohesion."
Rennie will name his 44-man All Blacks squad in Auckland on July 27.
