Willie le Roux will complete the year tantalisingly short of a century of Springbok caps, but Rassie Erasmus says he is not being cruel.
There is also the matter of the coach’s pet project, Aphelele Fassi, ending the season with a baptism in one of the toughest places to play, Twickenham.
The 35-year-old Le Roux will finish the year on 98 not out, possibly 99, if he gets a run against Wales next week.
“It might look like I’m being a bit mean to Willie, but it is the opposite,” Erasmus said yesterday after making 12 changes to the starting line-up to face England tomorrow (7.40pm kick-off).
“We do make it special for guys when they reach milestones. You saw how we gave Kwagga (Smith) a start at Murrayfield when he is best suited to playing off the bench, but Murrayfield is one of the best places you can play.
“Willie is now in the position where he will play his 100th game in South Africa (next year), provided he stays injury-free and keeps in form in the URC. How special will it be for him to run out for his 100th before a sold-out Loftus or Ellis Park?
“Willie knows exactly what his role is in terms of helping Fassi. But let’s see if we can help him get to 100 in South Africa.”
Just over 48 hours to go until kick-off in London, and the boys have been hard at work ✅#Springboks#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/kzMatDOcLy
— Springboks (@Springboks) November 14, 2024
Erasmus cracked a warm smile when asked to elaborate on the ‘Weekend Special’.
Fassi starting at Twickenham in 2024 could not be a farther cry from the disappointed youngster who was dropped out of the squad after a poor performance in the losing Test against Wales in Bloemfontein in 2022.
Erasmus sent Fassi back to the Sharks with a homework book packed with problems to solve.
Yesterday, Erasmus looked like a teacher who had seen a failing learner transform into a star pupil.
“Sometimes we understand and see what the fans and media see in a player, but sometimes you get a feeling that a player hasn’t yet had a snotklap (smack) from the opposition in a big game. He hasn’t yet had that shock blow that tells him, ‘Okay, I’m in the big league now’.
“I think Fassi had to get that somewhere, and not in a team where there were a lot of youngsters and nobody to stand by and help,” Erasmus explained.
The Bok boss dropped Fassi out of the SA set-up for exactly two years, and his comeback was also against Wales in a June game, this time at Twickenham five months ago.
“I think the path we took with Fassi has helped him to become gritty and tough, while keeping the magic he has – the way he glides over the field.
“He is now really physical and brave in the air, and he defends well. We call him the counter-tackler, the way he tackles in the wider channel.
“And he is going to get tested by England, and we want to see how he handles it.
“The ball is going to go up a bit higher and he will hear the footsteps coming… We felt we had to make him wait just a little bit longer, and that can make his career go further.”
Erasmus has restored nearly all of his big guns to the starting line-up for this fixture, but there is a relatively new face at tighthead prop in Bulls bulldozer Wilco Louw.
He starts in the No 3 jersey usually worn by Frans Malherbe.
“There are a few reasons for this selection, and it is not like we are just picking somebody and cheapening the jersey,” Erasmus explained.
“We don’t select like that. We will choose a guy we are convinced will not be a one-Test player, and Wilco has already played 14 Tests (2017-2021).
“Frans is not a laaitie (youngster) anymore. We are trying to prolong the careers of some of the older guys to give them a chance to get to the World Cup,” the coach explained.
“Frans also has a bit of an injury. Trevor Nyakane, we want to get game time at the Sharks; we know what we have in Vincent Koch, and we saw how good Thomas (du Toit) was last week. Now Wilco has his shot.”