Rassie Erasmus has confirmed he will release Springbok players to their franchises for the midweek and touring matches against the All Blacks during the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Series, provided squad depth is not compromised in the process.
Speaking to media on Tuesday, Erasmus outlined the balancing act: players not guaranteed game time in the Springbok Tests will be made available to their franchises rather than sitting idle in the touring group. He added that further releases beyond the five already made from the current 43-man squad remain possible if players fail to get sufficient game time during the Tests.
"The big thing is we don't want to keep a guy with us and not use him during the All Black series. That's why we're giving some guys the opportunity to play for their franchises," Erasmus said. "So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we'll try to do so."
Erasmus will finalise his official RGR squad after the team returns from Buenos Aires. His immediate focus remains on Argentina, and he acknowledged he has only had a brief look at Dave Rennie's All Blacks touring squad, which is already arriving in South Africa ahead of the opening match against the Stormers in Cape Town on 7 August.
On the injury front, Ox Nche and Franco Mostert are both ruled out of the Argentina fixture. Stormers prop Ntuthuko Mchunu has been recalled as Nche's cover. Erasmus confirmed the remainder of the squad — including Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Canan Moodie and Andre Esterhuizen — is fit and available.