Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has one of his biggest attacking weapons at his disposal once again for Saturday’s must-win Test against the All Blacks in Wellington.
Hard-running No 8 Jasper Wiese has served his four-match ban for a headbutt on an Italian player in July and been thrust straight into the starting lineup for the Cake Tin clash.
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Erasmus says after just having trained with the Bok squad for the last two months, Wiese will be itching to get out there and make his presence felt.
“Jasper-san is not a professional player, he’s a professional trainer,” Erasmus joked. “For the last eight weeks, he’s just been training, so we’re very happy to have him back.
“Jasper probably won’t go the full 80 but it’s great to have him back in the mix. He’s always been one of our standout players and in a big Test match like this, we’ll need him.”
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Erasmus again dismissed talk of an eighth-man crisis.
“Siya [Kolisi] did a great job in the first game [against Australia at Ellis Park] until he hurt his knee, and I thought he did a really, really good job again last weekend. Kwagga [Smith] does well when he comes on and now having Jasper back is obviously a massive plus.”
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Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
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