The 46-man Springbok squad for the upcoming blockbuster series against the British & Irish Lions has been well received, with all boxes seemingly ticked. In fact, of the 46 players picked on Saturday, only 24 (52%) were listed as belonging to South African franchises. Remarkably, there are a total of 5 players - more than both the Bulls and the Lions - included from England's Sale Sharks. Erasmus added that while it was difficult to lose South African players to overseas clubs, the system at Sale made it easier. "It makes sense for us in that regard, especially because we feel the high-performance programme at Sale is really good," he said.

Source: News 24 June 06, 2021 11:11 UTC