Africa-Press – South-Africa. Springbok legend Duane Vermeulen is confident coach Rassie Erasmus selected the right mix of experience and youth to fight back from last week’s defeat against the All Blacks in the second Test.
After the past weekend’s 27-14 defeat at Eden Park, the Boks and All Blacks clash again in the Rugby Championship at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday.
Vermeulen — now a coach for the SA Rugby Mobi-Unit, an initiative where a contracted team of specialist coaches visit franchises, Saru national teams and school sides to share knowledge — is looking forward to seeing what the exciting new backline will bring.
The former loose forward, who retired from the Boks after their World Cup victory in Paris in late 2023, brushed off concerns about more experienced players not featuring. He said the game marks the perfect opportunity for the Bok coaches to see what the younger players can deliver under pressure as they build towards the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
“I think we have a good pack that can hopefully give us good front-foot ball,” he said.
“If we can achieve that, I believe it will allow the backs to showcase their skills and play to their potential, so the makeup of this team is good for us.
“Of course, experience counts to a degree and I believe we have that up front, so it’s not a case of throwing [some of the senior] guys away.”
Vermeulen said the Boks made a few mistakes in last week’s defeat in Auckland, some of them by the more experienced players.
“But the reality is we have to look at the future too. There are a whole lot of young players who have put up their hands and we have to give them an opportunity to show what they can do because if we don’t, when are we going to give them the chance to prove what they can do in tough situations.
“This is a great opportunity for them to work together and also for the coaches to see what they can do and whether they are the right players to move forward with.”
As a former No 8, the double Rugby World Cup-winner was pleased to have Jasper Wiese back in the team after serving his four-match suspension.
“It’s great to have him back in the mix. He’s one of the guys that really gives us go-forward, so we’ll see what he brings to the game.
“The No 8 is the link between the forward pack and backline and I believe we selected an exciting backline, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Jasper brings to the party.”
Erasmus opted for the lock combination of Lood de Jager and Ruan Nortje, with RG Snyman set to make an impact off the bench. Vermeulen said this option serves many purposes for the coaching staff.
“You can’t play a guy like Eben [Etzebeth] every week because he’ll burn out, and we still want him to play for a few years, so one needs a bit of rotation.
“We have an experienced guy like RG on the bench, who has played in big matches, and Ruan did well last year when he got the chance at a time when we had a few injuries at lock.
“It may seem a little weird to have two No 5 locks in the pack but they’ve both played their part and know what they want to do. I also think it will be a good opportunity to see if these guys can make the step up and play without Eben.”
Having faced New Zealand on several occasions, Vermeulen said he preferred to leave it up to the other coaches to guide the younger players on what to expect from the All Blacks this weekend.
“I can probably just talk about the environment, but there are a few guys who are still playing when I played and all the coaches also give their input, so I don’t really work a lot with that side of things.”
The match kicks off at 9.05am SA time.
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