Loosehead prop Ox Nche is a fitness concern for the Springboks in the countdown to the world champions’ season finale against Wales in Cardiff.
The World Cup winner came off early with a cut above his knee which required stitches in a Bok victory against England in London on Saturday.
The Boks won 29-20 at Twickenham to make it two out of two on the tour with next week’s match remaining, while the result also means South Africa will retain the No 1 spot on the world rankings.
Erasmus admitted the victory lacked polish, while skipper Siya Kolisi commended his teammates’ fighting spirit in securing the result.
“It was tough,” said Erasmus. “We also had to work hard last week for the victory [against Scotland]. We missed a kick here and there and both teams were disallowed tries in the second half, while the injury to Ox [Nche] disrupted the way we planned to do things.
“We were certainly not happy with the performance, but if you beat England by nine points, it could come across as arrogant to say that. So, we are content with the result.”
“Next week will be our last match and then we’ll see each other in June or July next year again, so we certainly want to end the tour on a high note,” he added.
“As coaches we first need to select the team and work really hard to analyse Wales properly and put our structures in place for the game, so that will be our focus next week.”
Erasmus said the medical staff would assess Nche’s injury in the next day or two, and said they would determine his availability depending on his recovery.
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The Springboks will travel from London to Cardiff on Sunday and will begin their on-field preparations for the match on Monday.
Kolisi, meanwhile, lauded his charges for their resilience in the English capital: “We are a team that believe in fighting until the end and chasing lost causes, and that’s pulled us together as a group.
“We had to dig deep, but the players never gave up and kept on believing and that’s special about this group, and it allowed us to go all the way.”
With Erasmus making 12 changes to the starting team that faced Scotland, he admitted that while they felt pressure at certain points in the match, the team selected added some sense of comfort.
“We named an experienced team and one that has played important matches,” said the former Springbok loose forward.
“Many of them played in the closing match of the Rugby Championship against Argentina, but to hang in there with the yellow card, shows the planning by the coaches.
“In fact, if Vincent [Koch] was not named as a loosehead prop on our team-sheet, we could have gone to uncontested scrums and had to play with 13 players on the field, so I’m pleased with the calm heads the players showed and how they remained calm and collected.”
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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