The Springbok team selection to face France in Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Saint-Denis is impossibly difficult thanks to great planning.
Springbok team announcements are seldom met with universal approval. There will always be fans who feel that Player A should have been selected ahead of Player B. In the wake of a defeat, the omission of Player A will inevitably be cited as the primary reason for the loss.
Now, imagine those reactions playing out on a much bigger scale.
On Friday morning, the Boks will unveil their matchday 23 for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) quarterfinal showdown with France on Sunday. No matter who the coaches select – at No 8, flyhalf, outside centre, fullback, and on the bench – several world-class players will miss the cut.
The biggest potential casualties in this scenario are Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber, who have, in a sense, become victims of their own excellent planning.
Having worked with more than 100 players over the past six years, and having rotated their squad heavily in recent months, they’re suddenly sitting with a problem of fitting 33 excellent players into a matchday squad of 23.
Unsurprisingly, they have delayed their team announcement until Friday morning – breaking with the convention of naming their side at the start of the week.
With the team’s future…
