The Bok ‘bomb squad’ is back: Rassie explains why!

Rassie Erasmus has backed his World Cup winners to end the Springboks’ eight-year drought against Ireland when the sides meet in Pretoria on Saturday.

Apart from this two-Test series being a clash the top two-ranked teams in the world, the Springboks are also aiming to end their wretched eight-year winless streak against the Irish dating back to 2016.

On Tuesday, Erasmus named a star-studded starting lineup and a 6-2 bench split for the first of the two Tests to played at Loftus this weekend.

SPRINGBOKS BOSS EXPLAINS HIS SELECTIONS

“This is the team we believe will give us the impetus we need against Ireland, who are the second highest ranked team in the world,” said Erasmus.

“We are blessed to have a lot of depth in our squad, and the Springboks are in a fortunate position to have several Rugby World Cup-winners in our ranks who know what it takes to perform at the highest level and play against the best teams in the world.

“The fact that most of these guys have played together is a bonus for the us, and most of them have faced Ireland before so they are well aware of the challenge that lies ahead, especially since the Springboks haven’t beaten them since 2016.”

Erasmus said he was in a fortunate position to be able to call on so much Rugby World Cup winning experience.

“It’s great to be in such a position, and while it may serve as a mental boost, Ireland are a quality outfit and they’ll come out guns blazing. This is a new year for the Springboks with new systems in place, so while it certainly helps that most of the players have won a World Cup or two, this is a fresh chapter for us.”

“Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), similarly to Grant (Williams), also offers us additional options in the backline, as he can cover flyhalf and centre, while Grant is efficient at scrumhalf and wing, which places us in a good position with the six-two split.

“Salmaan, in turn, may only have a few Test caps, but he’s a former Junior Springboks captain, he captained the Stormers, and like Sacha, he came through our Elite Player Development (EPD) system, so they have been exposed to the way we do things at this level for some time now.

“This match will test their skills, but they are all quality players, in whom we have full faith, and it doesn’t get better to experience that against a team like Ireland.”

SOUTH AFRICA’S MATCH-DAY SQUAD

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche.

Subs; 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Marco van Staden, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

The Springbok team to face Ireland. Image: SA Rugby website