Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ selection of the team to face Argentina in the final round of the 2025 Rugby Championship season has raised questions on whether he now prefers the fast pace of youth above the experience of senior players.
On Tuesday, Springboks held a press conference in London where they unveiled the 23-man squad that will be facing the Argentinians in a must-win game to retain the Rugby Championship trophy.
The squad contained minimal changes from the one that recorded a 67 – 30 victory over the same opposition in Durban last week. This week sees the return of Grant Williams in place of Morne van den Berg, Ox Nche, Jessie Kriel, and Bongi Mbonambi.
For the third consecutive match in a row, double World Cup winner Handré Pollard has been omitted from the match-day team, with Rassie opting for the excitement of 23-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomzezulu, who produced a man-of-the-match performance last week, while Mannie Libbok, who recorded the Springboks’ biggest victory over the All Blacks, comes on as a replacement.
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During a press conference, Rassie assured the public that Handré’s exclusion does not mean he does not have a role to play. Instead, he believes that younger guys like Sacha and Manie can benefit from his experience.
“We know what Handré can do.”
“Sacha and Manie can learn things from this game that we know Handré can already do,” he added.
Speaking of the pressure of having two young flyhalves play in a must-win game, he said that the plan is to see how they can cope in managing important games.
“It may be a risk, but the benefit for the team going forward could be massive.
“They’ve also got the benefit of experienced guys like Jesse Kriel coming off the bench who can help if needed.”
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