Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus is not having sleepless nights over the No.8 position ahead of the Rugby Championship.
It’s a position that has garnered a lot of attention from the media and fans in recent weeks, especially with Jasper Wiese’s suspension.
The 29-year-old will miss the first three matches of the tournament due to suspension stemming from that headbutt incident in the second Test against Italy.
The Boks were already without players like Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom ahead of the Test season due to long-term injuries
Meanwhile, Evan Roos still has a lot of work to do to get into the Springbok coaching team’s good books.
The Stormer wasn’t included in the Rugby Championship squad, and his only appearance for the Boks so far was off the bench against the Italians in Gqeberha.
Erasmus has already looked at alternatives with Wiese’s brother, Cobus, starting at No.8 in the Boks’ final outing in July against Georgia, while Jean-Luc du Preez got a shot in the season opener against the Barbarians.
Kwagga Smith has been used in the No.8 position in big matches in the past, and it won’t be a surprise if he is the front runner for the Wallabies clash on August 16.
There are different guys with different skill sets [for the No.8 role],” Erasmus said during a press conference in Johannesburg ahead of the Rugby Championship.
“In the current squad, Kwagga, Marco [van Stadem] and Cobus can play there.”
While explaining the depth No.8, Erasmus also addressed the debate over Roos.
“I know everyone talks about the Evan Roos thing. I think you can phone Evan – all is good there.
“I know most of the coaches are planning to rest guys for the URC, but with Salmaan [Moerat] and Evan, we have chatted with Dobbo [Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson].
“[Assistant coach] Felix Jones has chatted with Dobbo about getting him [Roos] some game time and he knows what he must work on.
“We just feel that carrying so many loose forwards, guys are just going to train here.
“It’s lekker to have that depth and then we have Jasper Wiese, who comes back for that second All Black game.
“We don’t want to waste the players’ time by just training with us, whereas they can actually play for their franchises or for the Currie Cup teams.
“So, we feel we have three guys that we will probably use in the Australian Test matches, and Evan might come into the mix a little bit later.”
