The South Africa head coach has defended the controversial team selection for this weekend’s World Cup clash with Ireland.
Ciarán Kennedy Reports from Paris IF THE SPRINGBOKS are feeling any pressure ahead of Saturday’s massive World Cup pool clash with Ireland, they’re certainly not showing it.
But of course, today was not team announcement day for South Africa. The Springboks named their matchday 23 on Tuesday and it’s been the talk of the rugby world since, with Nienaber and director of rugby Rassie Erasmus opting for the controversial 7/1 split on the bench. “That’s a tough one,” Nienaber replied. “In our team, because I don’t know other teams, our bench isn’t necessarily what I would call a bench. Sometimes people get an idea that if you are on the bench you are probably not as good as the guy who starts. But like we have said numerous times, with the team and squad we have here that is not necessarily the case.
“Let’s forget the 7/1 split for a second,” he continued. “You select a team in a specific way with specific players that you think will get you a result on Saturday. If Malcolm was here and we felt he could contribute to get that result, he’d get selected.
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