Erasmus sticks with same squad for second Ireland Test
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday named the most experienced team in Springbok history for the second Test against Ireland in Durban.
Erasmus retained the same 23-man matchday squad as the one which defeated Ireland 27-20 in their opening match in Pretoria.
Erasmus named an unchanged starting XV with a total of 990 combined Test caps among them.
The total surpasses the 987 caps amassed by the run-on team in the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand in France last year.
Furthermore, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will become the most-capped centre pairing in South African history on Saturday when they combine in the midfield for the 30th time in Tests.
“It’s always tough facing Ireland,” said Erasmus. “They are a quality team; they are ranked second in the world, and as we saw last week, they never stop fighting, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that awaits us this weekend.
“We have no doubt they’ll come out even stronger this week, but we also identified the areas of the game that we need to improve on, and it’s vital for us to build on our performance in our quest to win both matches.”
Of this being the most experienced starting lineup in Springbok history, Erasmus said: “We don’t really look at such things when we select the team, but this shows how blessed we are with the depth in the squad and the quality of the players we have.
“While it may be an impressive statistic, it will by no means guarantee us a victory. We know we must go out there and play good rugby for the full 80 minutes to get the desired result.”
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