Rassie Erasmus says Saturday's 42-28 Nations Championship victory over Scotland at Loftus Versfeld served its purpose as a genuine examination of his fringe players, even if the results were mixed.

South Africa ran in six tries to Scotland's four, but it was the defensive vulnerabilities that drew Erasmus's attention post-match. He noted that 12 members of his matchday squad carried 10 caps or fewer, with a further five below the 20-cap mark — an unusual concentration of inexperience against a Scotland side that had beaten France and England in the Six Nations before routing Argentina on the road the previous week.

"There were 12 guys who had 10 caps or fewer, half of the team, so cohesion would always be a problem. That you could see in the defence when we made some subs at the end," Erasmus said.

The coach was direct about the reasoning behind the selection gamble. "Sometimes we must put our personal goals, or how many games we've won in a row, or even this championship on the line to know who can do what. If you don't make those calls, you will never know. We can wait till we play Georgia, but you're not sure of the intensity."

He confirmed the exercise produced clear differentiation among the candidates. "Now we know some guys need a lot of work to stay in, and some guys made it."

Erasmus expressed sympathy for Ethan Hooker, whose evening was cut short by a mouth injury rather than a head knock. "It's unfortunate a guy like Ethan — his mouth got pinged. There wasn't a head knock with him."

On the disjointed nature of the performance, he was candid. "We played with a team that's disjointed, that hasn't played together in a lot of combinations. Some of the guys just never played at this level with the guys who were next to them."

Erasmus acknowledged the Loftus crowd's unease but expressed confidence in the broader public's understanding of his methods. "I don't think the crowd was happy at the end, but I think South Africa understands what we tried to do in this specific game. I feel there's a togetherness when people know what we're trying to do."