A drastically altered Springbok lineup emerged from a gruelling, see-saw battle against Scotland with a 42-28 victory at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
The physical encounter saw the hosts outscore the visitors by six tries to four, keeping South Africa at the summit of the Southern Hemisphere conference on point difference over New Zealand. Both powerhouses sit locked at a maximum of 10 log points.
The Springboks displayed immense scoring potency but lacked sustained control. South Africa crossed for two tries in two minutes to establish a quick 14-0 lead in the first half.
They repeated the blitz in the second stanza, crossing the whitewash three times in an eight-minute window to establish a seemingly commanding 35-14 lead. However, a resilient Scottish outfit exploited defensive disconnects, responding with rapid-fire tries of their own on both occasions.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was frank about the performance, acknowledging that a lack of cohesion was the inevitable price of building squad depth.
"It’s much nicer when you win and you learn than when you lose and you learn," Erasmus reflected. "We had 12 guys who each had less than 10 caps, half the team, so we knew cohesion was going to be a problem. You could see that in the defence when we made some substitutions at the end."
Erasmus said that testing structural depth against top-tier opposition is vital for long-term growth.
We had 13 guys with less than 10 caps and another four with less than 20," Erasmus said.
"They are not settled test players, but they are guys who needed tier-one opposition. That is how you find out if they can handle the pressure.
"We learned a lot about some players, not that they are not good enough, but that there’s a lot of work to be done. This is the test that some of the guys needed. Not against a tier-two nation, but against a tier-one nation that is a really classy team."
Erasmus noted that the modern South African rugby public is more understanding of strategic rotation than in previous eras.
"In the past, I felt if we made four changes, people would ask, 'What are you doing?' But the interaction between the supporters and us through the media gives us a sense of togetherness. People know what we are trying to do."
He credited the Loftus crowd for sticking with a young, unpolished team when Scotland threatened a comeback.
"Sometimes we must put our personal goals to one side, whether it's how many games you’ve won in a row or even putting winning this championship on the line, so that you can know who can do what. If you don't make those calls, you will never know."
Erasmus said that the coaching staff anticipated a much stiffer challenge from Gregor Townsend's men than what they faced against England the previous weekend.
I don't want to upset the English, but we thought Scotland was going to be tougher than England," Erasmus admitted. "The way they smashed Argentina, the way they beat England, the way they beat France just four months ago in the Six Nations, we knew it was going to be a really tough game."
The Springboks will wrap up the July leg of the tournament when they host Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban this coming Saturday.
