Erasmus admits ‘selection headaches’ ahead of second Wallabies Test
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he will have some selection headaches ahead of Saturday's second Rugby Championship match against the Wallabies in Cape Town.
The Wallabies, who had not beaten South Africa at Ellis Park since 1963, recovered from trailing 22-0 to beat the reigning World champions and Rugby Championship title-holders 38-22.
Erasmus admitted that he had already picked the team for next week’s return match, but that he may now reconsider.
“We have always said that if we don’t play well and we lose momentum – and we did both, we played badly and lost momentum – we might change our thinking,” he said.
“We had a chat in the change room and that may now change, but we want to get Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Morne van den Berg and a few others a start, but we’ll have to rethink.”
Erasmus called the performance "really awful", blaming poor game management after a brilliant opening quarter.
“From now until next Saturday, we’re going to take a lot of flak, but we take credit when we do well, and we have to take the flak when we do badly.
“I’m saying it with a smile, not because I’m happy, but I’m saying it with a smile because that’s the reality of rugby, and we’re really disappointed, and we’re feeling bad for our players, and we’re feeling bad for our supporters, and for overall what we produced on the field.”
