Springboks embracing 'shared jersey' concept amid fierce squad competition

Erasmus' team selection for Saturday's Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies contained a fair share of surprises, but speaking to reporters on Monday, the Bok coach was quick to downplay the idea that the 15 players selected should be considered the best in every position, or that any one player holds a guaranteed starting spot.

Instead, the Boks' impressive depth allows him to judge each game on its own merits and make selection decisions based on the needs for that particular game.

Even players who did not make the squad for the two matches against the Wallabies should not be considered out of the picture and still attend virtual team meetings, the Bok coach stressed.

Erasmus gave more insight into his thinking after being asked about the decision to start Grant Williams at scrumhalf against the Wallabies, with Cobus Reinach on the bench and the likes of Morne van den Berg and Faf de Klerk missing out entirely.

"We are trying to build a culture where it is all three [or four] players' jersey and hopefully, just in a World Cup quarter-final, semi-final and final, we will pick the best nine who are in form," he said.

"Faf [de Klerk] is not at all out of the picture, and neither is Jaden [Hendrikse].

"But when we have meetings, we still have got Jaden, Faf, Makazole [Mapimpi] and Salmaan [Moerat]. So, although those guys aren't here, when we are having a meeting, those guys log in virtually.

"We know that if you don't go four positions deep, it can happen that in one game, you suddenly have two injuries in one position."

At the same time, Erasmus emphasized that healthy competition for places continues, with certain players likely to be preferred for the biggest, high-pressure matches.

"They are competing and they don't just want to give the jersey away, but they also understand that we will rotate, but there will be certain matches that we feel it is critical and that's probably when we play Rugby World Cup knockouts and very important matches in the Rugby Championship that a player will get the nod in a specific game," he added.

“We could have easily picked Morne off the bench, but in this specific game and with the way we want to play the game, he [Grant] isn't necessarily the first choice, but the way we want to play, he is the best option. 

"I think the squad has accepted now that we have shared jerseys and we don't say that this guy is out-and-out the best."