Rassie Erasmus has shed light on flyhalf Siya Masuku’s omission from the Springbok squad for the three clashes against Ireland and Portugal in July.
Erasmus on Tuesday named a strong contingent of 39 players and an additional 14 on a standby list for the two-Test series against Ireland and the solitary Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein.
Masuku earned his first call-up to the Bok setup on the back of his Challenge Cup heroics with the Sharks, as the playmaker starred in the Durbanites’ EPCR title-winning campaign that earned them safe passage back to the Champions Cup next season.
However, the 27-year-old was released from the national team camp ahead of the incoming series in the Republic, and placed on the standby list with last week’s No 10 debutant against Wales, Jordan Hendrikse.
Speaking in a Bok conference this week, Erasmus explained Masuku’s exclusion while highlighting SA Rugby’s EPD (Early Player Development) system.
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“When you play against a team and play well, you need to take in the quality of the opposition,” the Bok boss told the media.
“When you play in the Champions Cup, you have much better opposition as compared to the Challenge Cup as the level of the competitions is different.
“Winning the Challenge Cup is fantastic, especially for the Sharks. There are a lot of fine details we go through for selection, and people will go through stats, which isn’t wrong, but most stats are the result of looking after the fundamentals.”
“Jordan wasn’t one of the players who was fully in the EPD system, and you can see him struggle, but he was part of the EPD system,” Erasmus added.
“Sacha just slotted in well because the Under-20s have the same game plan. Siya’s 27, so he’s not too old and won’t be old for the next World Cup.
“However, we must give him more time to settle and get used to the Springbok way of doing things.”
Photo: @Springbok/Twitter
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
