‘It was a bit tough to get that right with the big squad,’ Rassie Erasmus said.
Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus said the team’s training camp has started well, as they’ve been able to meet their goal of providing more one-on-one attention to players ahead of the Rugby Championship.
Erasmus told the media they had cut the squad size and extended the training camp from one week to two, after finding that the larger group earlier in the year (55 and then 45 players) didn’t meet their need for focused work, though it did offer more depth.
The 37-man squad started training in Johannesburg on Sunday, and after three sessions by Tuesday afternoon, Erasmus told the media that he was happy with their progress.
More time to focus on players
“We just decided after the four games [Barbarians, Italy twice, and Georgia] that giving guys two weeks off before we go full-on Rugby Championship was a bit too long,” the Springbok coach said.
“So this week has basically given us time to go through every single facet of our game and be 100% aligned between players, coaches, strength and conditioning staff, and the medical team. That all the players know exactly what we expect from them, what is happening in the next couple of weeks.”
He said the squad was focusing on their conditioning programme ahead of tough matches against “top tier one” nations.
“When we were 46 or 47 most of the time, you had about 12 guys less at training to swop in and out. We did not cut the squad to drop guys, which a lot of people think. It was just to make sure that some of those guys… have a lot more one-on-one time.
“When Daan [Human] does the scrum and eight props have to swop in and three hookers, the locks…”
Springboks get the most out of their training
Erasmus said the larger squad provided a large player base who are comfortable in the Springbok setup. They know what is expected of them at international level.
Their good scorelines despite having fresh faces, were a positive. And the players will be available going forward. But the Rugby Championship is a big competition with less margin for error.
“We will swop a little bit in and out against Australia in the two Test matches, seeing how much game time we can get into most of the guys. But the positive in this is having guys here and getting a hell of a lot of reps in the attack, in defence, at the breakdown, contesting systems, aerial skills, where it was a bit tough to get that right with the big squad.”
