Sink or swim: Rassie Erasmus challenges fresh-faced Springboks to turn up in Turin

Rassie Erasmus has thrown his young Springbok hopefuls into the deep end, challenging them to swim against Italy in Turin on Saturday after veering away from his usual selection blueprint.

Under normal circumstances, the Bok head coach prefers to blood one or two fresh faces at a time, surrounding them with hardened veterans to steady the ship and ensure calm prevails on the field.

But not this week. He chucked that manual out the window to rest bruised bodies after the statement victory over France, and to lay down a challenge to their potential successors.

For the clash at the Allianz Stadium (2.40pm kickoff), Erasmus has rolled out one of the most inexperienced Bok matchday squads seen in years — a team where the young outnumber the old, and the established voices in the huddle will be far fewer than usual.

It’s a bold move, but a calculated one.

Fresh off that resounding win at the Stade de France in Paris, the Boks travelled to northern Italy with a clear objective: challenge the next tier of Test players who may be required to carry the torch into the 2027 Rugby World Cup — and, crucially, thereafter.

Erasmus has said repeatedly that South Africa cannot allow experience gaps to open up in the spine of the team, and Saturday’s Test offers the perfect platform to gather proper evidence on these youngster under real pressure.

“We will learn whether they can make it,” Erasmus said in the buildup, laying down the challenge for a group that includes forwards with fewer than 10 caps and a backline light on combined Test minutes.

With only a handful of senior figures in the starting XV, there won’t be the luxury for the younger players of leaning on a full complement of calm, established heads. Instead, they’ll be tasked to set the tone themselves, control the tempo against a fired-up side, and ensure they make mature decisions in a cauldron that is out of their comfort zones.

Italy, amped after an impressive victory over the Wallabies and showing clear signs of improvement under coach Gonzalo Quesada, will sense an opportunity against this young Test side.

They know the Boks are stretched thin with the changes, and they will look to feast on the inexperience, especially at the breakdown, where they thrive in slowing down the ball and creating chaos. It will be a mental, tactical and emotional test for the young Boks, not just a physical one. And with the vociferous crowd also against them, the challenge will also come from the sidelines.

Erasmus is a master strategist, and this selection shift is part of a larger plan: to ensure the depth of the world champions is not only wide but battle-tested.

So, Saturday is not an exhibition. It’s an examination.

And for the fresh-faced Springboks handed the keys to the Bok squad, there’s only one way to answer the call of Erasmus: they must step up to the plate and take ownership; if they do not, tough questions will be asked about their readiness.

They must prove, without the experience around them, that they belong at the highest level. Not just for the next Rugby World Cup, but for the years beyond the tournament in Australia.