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Rassie Erasmus has defended his decision to rest key Springboks for their one-point loss to Argentina, insisting the experience will benefit the team ahead of the Rugby Championship decider in Nelspruit.
A Springbok team featuring 10 changes from the side that beat the All Blacks in Cape Town twice surrendered leads to suffer a one-point loss to Argentina in Santiago del Estero.
Erasmus opted to rest seven players who have had a heavy workload in the last few months with an eye on the final round of the competition in Nelspruit on 28 September.
Bongi Mbonambi, Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Willie le Roux are all set to boost the Boks for the Rugby Championship decider.
Speaking after the loss, Erasmus backed his plan to expose a handful of youngsters to brutal and testing conditions in Argentina.
“The guys who were rested will definitely come into the mix. It would’ve been nice to win this game, we want to win it,” Erasmus said.
“We knew we were taking a bit of a gamble by leaving seven guys at home. The loss isn’t nice and we feel sad about that.
“I don’t want to say lessons learned, because that is an old cliche, but for some of the younger guys to experience this stadium, Argentina’s supporters and the way Argentina loosens up a game, now they know how it feels. There are five or six guys who haven’t played here before.
“The guys who are at home will definitely come back into the mix, like we planned beforehand.”
The defeat does set up a massive finale to the tournament at a sold-out Mbombela Stadium, where Eben Etzebeth could become South Africa’s most-capped player, having equalled Victor Matfield’s record in Argentina.
“That’s a positive spin on it,” Erasmus said. “We will have to first get over tonight. It hurts a lot, I must be honest, and I’m sure the South African people feel the same.
“We have to point fingers at ourselves. I’m not just talking about players, but the coaches as well. Next week we will try and finish it and win the Rugby Championship, but it doesn’t make tonight easier.
“There is something going on here with Argentina under Filipe Contepomi. They are becoming a force, without having a domestic competition. He’s picking players from all over the world and getting input from England, France and Ireland. Compliments to them.
“Next week will be a great occasion, but tonight was sore, we must get over tonight.”
Photo: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images
