Williams faces media as Erasmus delays Springboks team announcement

Springboks scrum-half Grant Williams appeared before the media on Tuesday, an appearance that may offer a significant clue about his involvement in Saturday’s Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus has departed from his usual practice of naming his team early in the week and will instead confirm his side on Thursday. Williams’ presence at the press conference could indicate that the Sharks scrum-half is among the 23 players selected for the match in Johannesburg.

The delayed announcement is part of Erasmus’ effort to limit the time New Zealand have to prepare for the Springboks’ selection and tactics. Erasmus said the decision was based on respect for the All Blacks rather than confidence or arrogance.

Williams was unwilling to confirm whether he would feature, stressing that the final decision would not be made public until Thursday.

“We have to wait until Thursday for the team announcement,” said Williams.

“It might be Morne [van den Berg], Cobus [Reinach], or Herschel [Jantjies], but if I get the honour to play on Saturday, my job will be to make sure the team goes forward.

“I won’t be focused on my position or who’s opposite me, but if I get the opportunity, my job will be to put the team first, and it will be the same for the other players.”

Williams was also asked about the effect of the Springboks’ emphatic 43-10 victory over the All Blacks in Wellington last year. He said that result belonged to the past and that the squad’s attention was now firmly fixed on the opening match of this year’s series.

“I just remember the win, but it was a whole different week, with a completely different mentality going into the game,” he said.

The 28-year-old added that he expected New Zealand to respond strongly in Johannesburg, regardless of which players Erasmus selects.

“The All Blacks will come out on Saturday guns blazing, but whoever is selected for the weekend will try to front up and make sure we represent South Africa really well.”

Erasmus explained on Monday that the decision to wait until Thursday was intended to make preparation more difficult for New Zealand.

“Yeah, I think the announcement only on Thursday is the respect for New Zealand and knowing how tough this one is going to be,” Erasmus explained.

“In this one specifically, we think the less time they have to prepare for our team, the better.

“So it’s not arrogance thing, it’s a respect thing.”

The first Test of the Greatest Rivalry series will take place in Johannesburg on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 17:10.