Rassie Erasmus admitted the Springboks were worried about the injury picked up by Cheslin Kolbe but that those concerns have since been allayed.
The superstar South Africa back will miss this weekend’s encounter against the Wallabies due to a knee injury that he sustained recently.
There were initial fears it could sideline Kolbe for longer, but Erasmus revealed that he could have played in the Rugby Championship opener if absolutely necessary.
‘Just to be safe’
“Cheslin will be ready next week. He had a knee scan and initially we thought it was a little bit more serious, but he was actually clear to play this weekend,” he told reporters.
“We thought next week just to be safe, we want to make sure he’s 100% fit.”
Edwill van der Merwe, who was exceptional against both Italy and Georgia, has come in for Kolbe and will start on the right wing.
He will likely come up against the Wallabies’ Dylan Pietsch after the Western Force speedster put in a hugely impressive display against the British and Irish Lions in the third and final Test.
Erasmus believes that Van der Merwe will have a big job on Saturday with the Springboks head coach seeing the kick-chase game as a crucial aspect of the match.
The 52-year-old started off by praising Australia’s pack, which dominated the Lions in Sydney, before moving onto the role of the back three.
“If you go through, [Taniela] Tupou, [Rob] Valetini and [Will] Skelton, and those three loose forwards, are pretty impressive. They scrummed really well in the second half against the Lions as well but I think there will be an aerial battle,” he said.
“At altitude the ball flies a mile so distance kicking will be a thing. Also they’ve got great guys in the air; you know [Joseph] Suaalii, the young boy [Max] Jorgensen, the other winger (Dylan Pietsch) is a really fiery winger who is really competitive. the inside centre (Len Ikitau) is really competitive.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a kicking competition but I think the aerial battle will be a vital one.”
Springboks kicking risk
Another interesting kicking aspect is the fact that Manie Libbok is the only out-and-out goal-kicker in the Springboks XV.
Considering the fly-half’s issues off the tee over the past few years, especially at Test level, it is a potential risk from Erasmus.
The head coach has stated that Aphelele Fassi will provide support should Libbok falter, while the versatile Damian Willemse is on the bench if required, but the Boks very much have belief in the 28-year-old.
Damian and Aphelele will be back-up kickers but we’re very confident in Manie. We always say hopefully the game doesn’t come down to kicking and instead comes down to scoring tries,” Erasmus added.
