Erasmus hails Boks buy-in as he builds squad depth

Coach Rassie Erasmus declared himself satisfied with South Africa's international season that brought a dominant win in the Rugby Championship and an unbeaten run through the autumn internationals for the first time since 2013.

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The Springboks thumped Wales 45-12 in Cardiff on Nov 23 to end the season with 11 wins from 13 Tests, their only blemishes being one-point defeats by Ireland and Argentina.

The latter of those was down to an extensive rotation policy that has seen the Springboks use 51 players in 2024 as Erasmus builds his squad depth with the 2027 Rugby World Cup in mind as they aim for a hat-trick of titles.

"My worry at the beginning of the season was how will the players take the swopping in and out, the building, and accepting that we are not (a squad of) 25 players, but 50 plus," the 52-year-old said. "I was not sure if the older guys would understand that.

"But we were honest with them at the beginning of the season and they all bought into the plan, which is admirable.

"Numbers are one thing, but it was more important how those players slotted in and how we did not lose a lot of momentum.