Erasmus Assesses Ntlabakanye’s “Solid” Performance In Springboks

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus described the performance of Emirates Lions prop Asanele Ntlabakanye as “solid” in the Boks’ Qatar Airways Cup victory against the Barbarians.

Erasmus noted that playing alongside experienced teammates helped Ntlabakanye’s display.

Much had been said about Ntlabakanye’s weight leading up to the game. To address this, the forward shed some weight by visiting the Boks’ scrum coach Daan Human’s farm in Bloemfontein, where he underwent rigorous training.

With a slightly lighter Ntlabakanye slotted into the forward pack alongside seasoned players like hooker Malcolm Marx and prop Ox Nche, these experienced figures laid the foundation for the Springboks to score eight tries. Tries were scored by Marx, Cheslin Kolbe, Vincent Tshituka (two), Kurt-Lee Arendse, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Lood de Jager, and Damian de Allende.

Although the game is not counted as a Test match, the Boks secured a dominant 54-7 victory at DHL Stadium on Saturday. This marked the first time the Springboks had beaten the Barbarians, an invitational team of players picked from around the world, since 2000.

“I think he [Ntlabakanye] was solid, I don’t think he was outstanding,” said Erasmus. “I think you could see a bit of soft hands that he has. I think there was a stage, one or two scrums, where we didn’t dominate.

“But he was scrumming with very experienced guys – hookers, loose forwards. So, they didn’t have a weak back, and I think having Malcolm Marx and Ox next to him really helped. Obviously, the heavy locks of Lood [de Jager] and Jean Kleyn behind him helped a lot. But he’s got a bit to go, to learn, and there is definitely test potential.”

Erasmus stated that he wouldn’t get carried away by the comprehensive victory over the Barbarians, noting that the visitors had only one week to train in Cape Town before the match. The World Cup-winning coach acknowledged that a lack of cohesion was expected from the Barbarians, as Irish legend Peter O’Mahony and former All Blacks captain Sam Cane had not played extensively together in the same team.

Despite this, the Springboks, who fielded an almost full-strength squad, played the game without captain Siya Kolisi, who was pulled out on the eve of the match due to a niggle injury, with the captaincy going to Jesse Kriel.

“We won’t be carried away with a game like this,” said Erasmus, as his side now turns their attention to Italy at Loftus Stadium this coming weekend in a Test match.

“It was a festival game that we played at home with a team that trained a few times together. But certain things came through. We want to get better, and I guess this match and the next three matches we will play, we will try to focus a lot on us because when we face Georgia it will also be a grind.

“I guess we want to get better. I think if the weather was drier, the offloads would have been a lot better. A dry weather that could have stuck, but at halftime, after the guys spoke about that, we played a little bit more conservative, and we got more points.

“I guess we will get used to this weather if we get that again. But we can’t wait to play on a dry pitch and still improve our attack.”