While the Springboks remain focused on their opening Rugby championship double-header against the Wallabies, much of South Africas is already looking ahead to the showdown with the All Blacks in Auckland, and a potentially game-defining call at No 10.
Rassie Erasmus recently stated that he has no intention of installing one of Handré Pollard, Manic Libbok or Sacha Feinberg -Mngomezulu as the Springboks’ first-choice No 10.
It was a fascinating admission by the Springboks head coach on the eve of the Rugby Championship, and less than a month out from the all-important clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park.
“Everything depends on who our opposition is on the day and what our plan is. I like to believe it gives us options,” said Erasmus. “By not having a first-choice fly-half, it makes it more difficult for opposing teams to analyse us and makes us less predictable.”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
South Africa’s selection process has evolved over the past decade, with the focus shifting from the starting XV to the matchday 23, and more recently from the 23 to the extended squad.
Squad depth has been the key to their sustained success. The Boks relied on their bench to clinch the 2019 and 2023 World Cup titles, while Erasmus used 35 players over the course of a gruelling yet successful 2024 Rugby Championship campaign.
Erasmus’ recent statement can be taken at face value when you consider that Pollard, Libbok and Feinberg-Mngomezulu have all enjoyed starting opportunities over the course of the current World Cup cycle.
More should be read, however, into the selections for the ‘marquee Tests’ during this period.
The Boks coach has favoured a specific individual or combination in certain high profile matches where the result has been all-important – namely the two-match series against Ireland, as well as against New Zealand
last year, plus the one-off against England at Twickenham in November.
These selections – and indeed the performances – go a long way towards answering the hypothetical question of who would play at No 10 if the World Cup final was staged this Saturday.
In the context of the 2025 Test season, that ‘final’ will be staged on 6 September, when the Boks face the All Blacks at Eden Park.
The Auckland clash is so important that Erasmus will have no choice but to show his strongest tactical hand at No 10, and across the matchday squad.
This game may decide whether South Africa retain the Freedom Cup, and may also shape the race for the Rugby Championship title. The prospect of claiming South Africa’s first win at Eden Park since 1937 will serve as further motivation for Erasmus’ charges.
