South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus says some of his Springboks put their hand up for World Cup selection in their Rugby Championship win over Australia at Ellis Park.
The Springboks fielded a weakened side with 13 first-choice players sent early to New Zealand to prepare for next week’s clash with the All Blacks.
But with exciting debutant halfback Herschel Jantjies scoring a try in each half, the hosts handled the big moments best against the Wallabies, scoring five tries to two in a 35-17 victory.
“A few guys certainly put their hands up for World Cup selection and although there was some rustiness and all our combinations weren’t settled, we are still happy with the win,” said Erasmus, who headed straight for the airport after the match.
“At times we were frustrated with how things went, and we were also lucky as they (Australia) had a try disallowed for a forward pass and lost the ball over the line.
“We are under no doubt that this isn’t close to a world-class performance but some individuals stood out in the game and that’s the biggest thing we can take from this.”
The Springboks looked a bit disjointed in defence but skipped away in the second half after leading 14-10 at the break.
Jantjies’s second try showed some individual brilliance when he took the ball from the back of a ruck and darted down the sideline to touch down.
“I think Herschel showed that he is comfortable at this level, if you consider that he only really made his mark at Super Rugby level this year,” Erasmus said.
“The way he services his box kicks, the technical things, grit on defence, he can only grow from here.”
He said his team was still outplayed in the air, despite the absence of Israel Folau, who had his Rugby Australia contract terminated in May.
“Australia still had our number in the air,” Erasmus said.
“Nic (White) got some great box kicks for both (Reece) Hodge and (Dane) Haylett-Petty and they were awesome in the air.
“The second half we were better but in the first half they totally caught us off guard as we expected a long kicking game, like they did last year, so we were still beaten in the air without a doubt.”