NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Rassie goes full strength for Italy clash
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has named a strong, experienced squad for the upcoming Nations Championship match against Italy. The team features the return of Salmaan Moerat in the second row to compensate for the absence of injured players like Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman.
Why it matters
The selection highlights the Springboks' commitment to maintaining high performance levels despite injury setbacks during their European tour.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has selected what looks close to his strongest available team for Saturday’s opening match of the away leg of the Nations Championship against Italy in Turin.
It was speculated beforehand that the Boks might go under-strength and give some of the newcomers a go as Italy are arguably the less challenging of their initial opponents on tour, but that would have involved introducing new players off just a few days of training.
All the combinations playing on Saturday have played together for the Boks before, even the one area where there is a shift from the normal, which is in the second row.
With Eben Etzebeth missing the tour that takes in games in Paris and Dublin before the Finals day in London at the end of the month Salmaan Moerat has been brought in to partner Ruan Nortje in the second row.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in