Springboks may make another late front-row change against All Blacks

Rassie Erasmus has left open the possibility of changing South Africa’s front row shortly before kick-off for Saturday’s third Test in the Greatest Rivalry Series against New Zealand at FNB Stadium.

The Springboks head coach made the admission after naming his squad for the match at the Calabash, saying the weather forecast could again influence his selection.

“I see it’s a 65% chance for rain and that does change the game,” Erasmus said.

Rain, he explained, would affect several key areas of the contest, including handling, tactical kicking and the ability of players to challenge for possession.

“It makes handling tougher, it makes box kicking tougher, it makes people who want to strip the ball more effective.

“Scrummaging is a little bit more difficult with a lighter pack, if we can call it that way.

“A heavier pack is, in my opinion, and what Daan [Human, Springboks scrum coach] tells me, a lighter pack struggles a little bit more on a wet field, thus the change last weekend, so I hope it doesn’t rain on Saturday and we swap it back again, and you think we’re doing it on purpose.

“If it’s clear and dry, that will be the team that’s starting. If it’s rain, we might make the change too.”

Erasmus made a similar adjustment before the second Test in Cape Town last Saturday, responding to the conditions by altering the make-up of his front row.

That possibility has been noted by New Zealand, although All Blacks attack coach Mike Blair said his side would not devote significant preparation time to a specific player or position when the Springboks could change their selection until the final moments before the match.

“I mean, you take notice of it, but you take it with a pinch of salt as well,” Blair said.

“Listening to what he said after the second Test about how he changed the team around dependent on the weather, it shows that they’ve got the capability of doing that. So, you know, it gives us a little bit of an idea potentially of what they might be thinking.

“But we’re not going to spend huge amounts of time planning for a certain individual in a certain position when we’re pretty aware that that can change right up until kick-off,” Blair added.

The All Blacks were not unsettled by the late change in Cape Town, and Blair indicated that the same would apply if Erasmus makes another switch in Soweto.

There may, at least, be a clearer indication this time of whether a change is likely. The teams could assess the conditions in the morning by looking outside before preparing for the match.

The forecast will therefore remain an important part of the build-up, with a dry day likely to see the named team retained and wet weather potentially bringing another late alteration.

Kick-off at FNB Stadium is scheduled for 17:15.