Rassie Erasmus believes Aphelele Fassi was outstanding in the first Test match against the All Blacks and that he is still part of the team’s plans despite not featuring in the second match.

Meanwhile, the Boks coach also addressed Ben-Jason Dixon’s exclusion, saying the striker was being too hard on himself after a disappointing display against New Zealand.

Fassi was handed the starting full-back jersey for the match at Ellis Park after a brilliant performance in the Test match against Australia in Perth, where he scored a try to secure victory over the Wallabies.

According to the Springboks boss, the Sharks defender made the most of his opportunity despite not being included in the squad for the second match, with Willie Le Roux returning to his role as the starting playmaker.

Fassi is certainly in the Springboks’ plans

Erasmus was delighted with Fassi’s performance in Johannesburg but explained that Le Roux’s experience had an impact on plans for the Cape Town start.

“Fassi was brilliant, we asked him specifically to do certain things well in the game and others he just did naturally,” said the head coach.

“His defence was rock solid, he kicked well, he played well with the high ball and again we have a guy who has 97 caps (Le Roux) and he plays with Handre Pollard.

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“There are 19 guys in this group who have been to the World Cup, so I don’t think we were unfair to the others by giving them a chance to play.”

Erasmus made seven changes to his squad for Matchday 23 and continues a trend into 2024 of making numerous changes to his squad from match to match, something he believes the team will continue to do, especially if they keep winning.

“We’ll keep doing it and it’s nice to do it when you’re winning, but the moment you do it when you’re losing it can seem like a knee-jerk reaction or something that’s not planned,” he added.

“We have a plan for how we want to manage the term over the next three years and Fassi is definitely part of that plan.”

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Ben-Jason Dixon’s Disappointment

Meanwhile, Erasmus has asked Dixon not to be so hard on himself after he posted on social media that he did not have the “greatest day in the office” during his first match against the All Blacks.

Dixon was excellent in the matches against Wales, Portugal and Australia but failed to produce the same results against New Zealand and was replaced before the break as Erasmus opted to keep Eben Etzebeth on.

“He shouldn’t be so hard on himself and I told him that,” Erasmus said.

“We spoke about his game and that’s the case in some of the Test matches, especially the one against New Zealand at Ellis Park. They’re tough.

“The media and crowd noise is something that is hard to take in and the pressure from the crowd is there on both sides, especially with the Springboks. When you are doing well you feel like they are taking you over the line, but when you are not doing well it is quiet and it is getting to some of the players.”

Despite the setback, the Springboks manager believes Dixon will play a number of Test matches for South Africa and has insisted he will return to the team soon after narrowly losing his place on the bench to Elrigh Louw.

“I think he will play a lot of Test matches for South Africa, he is certainly in the squad as another seventh-order spinner who we think can do it,” he added.

“We wanted to get a 5-3 split again and Elrigh did really well when he came on and had a great impact, and Ben-Jason will probably play in the next round against Argentina.”

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