With an eye on the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus has emphasised getting a positive result against Los Pumas in Buenos Aires.
Erasmus on Tuesday addressed the media ahead of next Saturday’s one-off clash against Argentina, noting the game would play a key role in the world champions’ planning for tackling the All Blacks over four Tests in August and September.
Twenty-six Boks will travel to South America this Saturday, while 15 to 16 men will gather in Johannesburg to begin their preparations to face New Zealand.
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“It’s difficult to not look past Argentina, but we have to beat Argentina first. We want to win every Test match we play,” said Erasmus.
“Then there’s the bigger picture, the World Cup, which is close to a year away, but you also have to respect the team you play next week.
“Argentina are a quality team, and you’ll quickly see who is ready to play against New Zealand two weeks later.
“That said, this match wasn’t planned with that reason in mind – it was always about honouring our relationship with Argentina.”
On managing his squad for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, with the Kiwis set to face the Stormers (7 August), Sharks (11 August) and Vodacom Bulls (15 August) before the Ellis Park Test on 22 August, he added: “The big thing is we don’t want to keep a guy with us and not use him during the All Black series.
“That’s why we’re giving some guys the opportunity to play for their franchises.
“Taking players on tour without being able to give him a game for his franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing, but we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests.
“So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we’ll try to do so. We might also still release more players from the group if they don’t get enough game time in the Bok Tests.”
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All Blacks rival Dave Rennie named a 44-man touring squad on Monday, and Erasmus said he would delve deeper into the challenge posed by the Kiwis after the Boks’ South American trip.
“I saw the squad was announced, but at this stage we’re all locked in for Argentina,” he said. “I haven’t studied [their squad].
“Everybody’s really excited about them and the way they’ve played in the first three [Nations Championship] games, and we know it’s going to be tough, but Argentina is our first goal.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
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