The Springboks team decided to use almost a fully strengthened squad in the upcoming Nations Cup match against Italy. This decision was made by head coach Rassie Erasmus following the team's unsuccessful performance against Australia in Perth.
Erasmus fielded his main squad at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, aiming to build winning momentum early on. After this match, the team will face two difficult games against France and Ireland, which will take place after the opening in November.
Boks did not include players without international experience in the tour, returning to a 23-man squad that includes over 1000 matches. Only the starting fifteen have 835 Test matches. This demonstrates how seriously Erasmus and his management take this meeting, despite the Italian national team facing several injuries among veterans, including props Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex.
Rassie Erasmus stated that the Nations Cup is a tournament where everyone participates. He noted that in the last game against Australia they 'went all out' and it didn't go smoothly, but some players got time on the field in Perth. Nevertheless, since there are three important matches ahead, and the biggest competition is the World Cup next year, they are trying to prepare for it.
He added that the team also needs to contend for the Nations Cup trophy in the playoffs or final round. Therefore, they obviously take this seriously. Moreover, they did not have as much time for training as other teams. Erasmus mentioned that they were lucky with about 10-12 players from Japan who were here with some coaches from last week. Their first training session was on Monday afternoon, and now everyone is up to speed.
According to Erasmus, choosing almost the full squad was not a difficult decision, and he is confident in the players' ability to perform well on Saturday. Since the Boks will play against France next Friday in Paris, and they will have to recover quickly, they will aim to gain as much momentum as possible and allow combinations to find each other again.
Despite potential questions in the coming days regarding why the Boks chose a stable squad, it is clear that the world champions are aiming to win another trophy after their victory in the 'Great Rivalry' with the All Blacks. Erasmus said they are close to the World Cup, and while experimentation is desirable, maintaining pace is important. He reported that he spoke with Italy's coach Gonzalo Quesada in London yesterday (Sunday), and they all strive to try different combinations, but also want people to maintain faith in them, and players to trust them.
