Professional sports people want to play week-in and week-out. It’s not seen as selfish, but just them wanting to do the thing they love most.
Most of them will also tell you they hate training and can’t wait for matchdays to get on the park and do the business.
Most of them also hate being rotated, because it could break their rhythm, while their replacements’ performance could see them fall behind in the pecking order when for the big matches.
In 2024, a year on from winning the Rugby World Cup, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus decided to rotate heavily in a bid to make the transition from the older generation of players to the younger crop lot easier.
Always a tough battle on the field but great to catch up after the game @Springboks 🤝 pic.twitter.com/jdhxR8xwXu
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]>![CDATA[]]> (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 23, 2024
Erasmus is already looking towards the next Rugby World Cup, with the lot of double World Cup-winning Boks set to retire between now and the end of rugby’s next global showpiece match in Australia in 2027.
Erasmus used 51 players this year across 13 Test matches, winning 11, while going down to Argentina away and Ireland at home with one-point defeats. They could have easily won those matches too.
Their 45-12 victory over Wales on Saturday night also ensured the Boks were unbeaten on their traditional November tour for the first time since 2013.
All in all, it was a wonderful year for the Boks, and Erasmus said the players’ patience with all the squad rotations throughout the season was admirable and the reason why they could mix and match without dropping their standards.
“It was nice for the team to have achieved all of that,” said Erasmus.
“I was worried at first about how the players will take the swapping, but we were honest with them at the beginning of the season, and they all bought into the plan, which is admirable.
“We also got a new attack and defence coach in this year (Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery) and the way they slotted in and assisted the team was fantastic.
“We are satisfied with the scoreboard (against Wales) and the year in general. And one must applaud the players for their effort, especially since we made so many changes.
“It’s rewarding that we were able to finish the year using 50 players. We lost rhythm at times, but the way Siya (Kolisi) and the other leaders kept the group together was special.”
You just can't hate this man! 🤩
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) November 23, 2024
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 @Springboks captain Siya Kolisi joins the broadcast and explains how much respect is shown in the Principality Stadium#AutumnNationsSeries | #WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/7iCeZF56bF
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, meanwhile, credited Erasmus for the team’s success this season and over the last few years in which they won back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, a British & Irish Lions Tour and the 2024 Rugby Championship to add to a handful of other trophies.
Kolisi, who played in his 92nd Test in Cardiff, said the way Erasmus took the pressure off him as the captain was instrumental in the team’s success, while he full of praise for the Bok coach after the victory.
“We are so lucky with the kind of leadership we have in this group, and the way coach Rassie set up the group and took the pressure away from me with everyone having their own pressure points really helps,” said Kolisi.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved, and to be honest, the younger me would have never thought I would be here, and that’s why it’s all so special.
“We now have to go back to our unions and clubs and have to wait six months to fight again for our places in the squad for next year.”
The bulk of the Springbok squad will depart for South Africa on Sunday night and land late Monday afternoon.
@JohnGoliath82