Springboks Showcase Brotherhood with Heartwarming Gesture Confirmed by Rassie Erasmus
The Springboks continue to demonstrate the deep sense of brotherhood within their camp, with a recent gesture confirmed by Rassie Erasmus highlighting their unity.
The Springboks are set to take on Wales in their first game of the 2024 international rugby season on Saturday at Twickenham. This match marks their first appearance since becoming back-to-back World Champions and also sees Rassie Erasmus back in charge for the first time since the 2019 World Cup final.
Due to the game falling outside the international Test window, Erasmus could not select players from England, Ireland, and France, nor from the Bulls, who will be contesting the United Rugby Championship final at Loftus on the same day. This situation presented an opportunity to test the depth of the Springbok system.
Four Springbok Debutants
Erasmus has named four debutants for this game. Lions duo Jordan Hendrikse and Edwill van der Merwe will start, while Stormers players BJ Dixon and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu will make their debuts from the bench. Erasmus expressed his excitement for the newcomers:
“This is an exciting playing squad and travelling group, and we are looking forward to seeing how the uncapped players step up at top international level and how we execute what we’ve been working on at training in the last few days and at the alignment camps. The likes of Edwill, Jordan, Ben-Jason, and Sacha have really impressed us at training, and we believe they have what it takes to make their presence felt against a quality team such as Wales,” said Erasmus.
On the opposite end of the experience spectrum is prop Vincent Koch, a two-time World Cup winner, who is set to make his 50th appearance for the Springboks. Originally, Frans Malherbe was slated to start at tighthead prop, but a touching gesture changed the lineup.
Malherbe’s Gesture to Koch
“Five minutes later one of the players came to me and said it was Vincent’s (Koch) 50th game. When Franna (Malherbe) heard that, he said: ‘No way’. A guy that works so hard and got so few chances to start and it is in your hands, the two players are so similar. He also plays with guys that he knows. He and Malcolm [Marx] normally go on together. So it is now a combination, but it wouldn’t have been a combination if it wasn’t for his 50th. That is how much it means to the players. We don’t want a player to come off the bench when it is his 50th game, especially when there is very little to choose between him and Frans,” said Erasmus.
Koch will now be looking to repay this gesture with a strong performance. The Springboks will aim to set a positive tone for the year with a vital win in their first game of the season.
