Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - South Africa Press Conference - Lensbury, London, Britain - November 15, 2024 South Africa's Siya Kolisi during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley
LONDON (Reuters) - South Africa’s rotation policy is part of a bigger picture with their 2027 World Cup defence in mind, according to captain Siya Kolisi as he prepares to face England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wilco Louw will bring up a half-century of players used in what will be a 12th fixture for the Springboks in 2024, the prop earning his first cap in three years as coach Rassie Erasmus continues to throw his selection net wide.
The world champions made 11 changes for last weekend’s 32-15 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield, and have made another 12 for the showdown with England.
"While we are winning, we also want to build squad depth because injuries happen," Kolisi told reporters on Friday. "If someone is unavailable, you then don’t stress, because you know you have guys who can come in.
"This year young guys have been playing in big tests against Australia and New Zealand, and that is what you want. That is what we are working on as a group.
"Everyone wants to play every game, but the team is the most important thing and we know what the coaching staff are trying to do."
It does not make for great continuity and South Africa’s performance against the Scots, despite scoring four tries and winning by 17 points, was below par.
"We want to improve from last week. We won, but the players weren’t happy with the way we played," Kolisi said. "Our standard is important to us."
England have lost to New Zealand and Australia in the dying minutes on consecutive weekends and Kolisi expects them to be fired up.
"It can sometimes pull a team together," he said. "We know what England can bring and playing at Twickenham is special for opposition teams, but also for them. The crowd will get behind them."
This Springbok team is setting a benchmark for success after back-to-back World Cup wins, but Kolisi is motivated to push them even further.
"There is a lot more people of colour watching rugby (in South Africa) with the kind of team we have now, a diverse team, not just in their race, but also their backgrounds," he said.
"We can’t always promise a win, but we can promise to do our best. Our fans keep us accountable, they hurt when we lose, maybe even a little more than us."
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond)
