Erasmus delves into minutiae as he plots Bok series victory against All Blacks

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Thursday named a 23-strong squad for Saturday’s first Test at Ellis Park that outweighs the All Blacks 1,043 caps to 879.

And while the mentor wants to win the opening match — only one South Africa-New Zealand series has been won by the side that lost the first game (the Boks back in 1937) — he’s using another metric to get through the four-Test showdown.

“The pressure is certainly on. It’s a massive, massive Test series and how we start is very important,” he said, adding he had examined how much time each player had spent on the field in the past six weeks.

“The playing minutes of each squad — they’re averaging 200 minutes per player that they selected in the last six weeks. We averaged about 130 minutes per player.

“You can only look at the last six weeks because what you played prior to that is not really reflective of how match-fit a player is.”

From one Damian to another 🤝Gaza pays tribute to Doogz ahead of his 100th cap for the Springboks and talks about what he means to the players 🫂#SSRugby | #RugbysGreatestRivalry pic.twitter.com/nzpcsngmzk— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 20, 2026

Erasmus didn’t say it directly, but the suggestion is that the Kiwis could be overcooked by the time they get to the crucial third Test in Soweto on September 5, by which time the series score is either 2-0 to one side or 1-1.

“We just think of keeping guys fresh. I’m 100% sure by round three, which will be the most important match, there will be another six-seven injuries in each camp, so managing players’ game time is very important.”

Striking first in the opening Test would be a huge boost, but it wasn’t everything, he pointed out, referring to the 2021 British and Irish Lions series where the Springboks went 0-1 down after the opening game before fighting back to win 2-1.

Either the third match or the final fourth showdown in Baltimore would decide the series, he stressed.

It was with a rotational strategy in mind that Erasmus decided to keep captain Siya Kolisi, who was injured against Argentina on August 8, on ice.

High praise from Rassie Erasmus on Paul de Villiers who wears the six jersey on Saturday.🗣️ “He’s the kind of player that is above average in most areas with three or four areas where he is world class.”#SSRugby | #RugbysGreatestRivalry pic.twitter.com/PRgzeqKoql— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) August 20, 2026

“Siya probably could have played, but then risking him this weekend and then you get to match three of the series and then you have a lot of walking wounded … that’s the thought process.”

Erasmus said he had a good idea of what to expect from the All Blacks on Saturday.

“They’re saying at press conferences they’re going to play fast, intense and people must try to keep up with them.

“That shows in the stats. They have probably doubled the breakdowns, doubled the passes that they had in Razor’s [previous coach Scott Robertson] era.

“And that’s the way they want to play. They want to run you off your feet and make sure that they win their breakdown ball lightning quick, whatever it takes at that breakdown, and those are the things we’ll have to counter.

“But then obviously we’ll have the ball sometimes and we have to try to imprint our attacking style on the game. So I think there’s so many challenges in the game, individuals, tactics, set phases, kicking game, loose open running game, breakdown pressure.

We won’t be stupid enough to think it’s going to be that easy.—  Rassie Erasmus

“I think it’s such a close contest. I mean I don’t think Dave [Rennie, the All Black coach] can tell you who’s going to win on Saturday and I certainly can’t tell you who’s going to win on Saturday.”

Erasmus also paid homage to inside centre Damian de Allende, who will become the 10th Springbok to earn 100 Test caps.

The coach recalled first noticing the midfielder when he was director of rugby at the Stormers. “When he started playing against guys like Sonny Bill Williams — I’m a big Sonny Bill fan — and he was one of the few guys that really could handle Sonny Bill Williams. I’m talking attack and defence, offloads. He’s a very physical guy …

“People think his skill is his physicality, but it’s actually his understanding of the game, and how he’s passing, and when to get involved in the game.”

Erasmus again dismissed the suggestion that the Springboks could expect to hammer New Zealand as they did in their last encounter, the record 43-10 victory in Wellington nearly a year ago.

“We won’t be stupid enough to think it’s going to be that easy.”