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Cape Town - Former Springbok coach Jake White has lauded current incumbent Rassie Erasmus for picking an experimental team against the Wallabies last week.
Erasmus sent several of his frontline players early to New Zealand to prepare for this weekend's Test against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The gable paid off as the Boks beat the Wallabies 35-17 at Ellis Park.
"When I was asked at the time about Rassie’s plan to rest guys for this week’s Test in Wellington, I said it was a great idea. It’s all about building pressure and this plan can have a positive, long-term effect for SA Rugby," White wrote via a column for the All Out Rugby website.
White urged South African rugby fans to be more positive.
"My view was and is that South African rugby generally sees the glass as being half-empty instead of half-full. What I mean is that all we see is what could go wrong, but what about if the Boks follow up last week’s win by beating the All Blacks? The value of that to the Bok aura will be priceless going into the World Cup and the only way to make those gains is to take these kinds of risks.
"When I was a youngster, a friend of mine had a plaque in his office that said, 'The biggest risk in life is taking no risk.' I'm not talking about being gung-ho and having no perception of what’s happening around you; the risks I'm talking about are calculated and worked out, and the gains are worth it.
"In New Zealand, when they send a second-rate team to Argentina it's seen as visionary; in SA, it's seen as panic and a guarantee that we're not going to win either match. Rassie must be applauded for a very clever idea because it puts pressure on the number one team in the world."
