Rassie Erasmus’ famed ‘Nuke Squad’ returns in Cardiff on Saturday, with an explosive 7-1 bench split he hopes will bury Wales and seal a perfect year-end tour.
But the Bok mentor admits the decision to name a forward-heavy bench was not in his original plan and that he may have had to make some more drastic calls just get 23 players to play.
“I don’t think we planned at the beginning of the year to go 7-1 against them,” Erasmus said. “These are actually just the only guys available after discussions with the franchises, and it was almost forced on us.
“Player 24 is Tuks [Ntuthuko Mchunu] and player 25 is Duane Vermeulen. So it was a case of one injury, Tuks is in and another injury, Duane is in.”
TEAM: Reinach reaches 50 for Boks, Nuke Squad returns
With Cobus Reinach the only specialist back among the replacements for his 50th Test, Erasmus says the Boks have mapped out exactly how they’ll survive multiple knocks in the backline.
“We’ve got a whole lot of players who can cover multiple positions for us,” Erasmus said. “Cobus will cover on the wing. Kwagga [Smith] covers nine on defence if we lose two backs to injury and on attack he’ll go onto the blind wing. Then we also have Ben-Jason [Dixon] who’s on standby should we get a third injury in the backline.”
Smith has long been one of the Boks’ most versatile assets, while Dixon’s athleticism and mobility make him a rare forward who can survive emergency minutes in the back division.
JAKE: No one can live with the Boks
The Bok coach is bracing for a fiery contest in Cardiff, where Wales will be hunting a statement performance in their final Test of the year.
“We’re expecting a tough Test in Cobus’ 50th game against a Welsh team who we think has a tough underbelly and who has fire in their bellies. Somewhere along the line their game will come together and we’re just hoping that it isn’t against us on Saturday.”
He added: “This is also the last match of the year for both teams, so there’s no doubt they’ll give everything to finish their season on a high note and try to improve their world ranking with the World Cup draw coming up next week.”
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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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