Gavin Rich unpacks why Erasmus has effectively abandoned his pre-series rotation hints and kept faith with largely the same matchday group across all three RGR tests — and why that's more defensible than the optics suggest. The core argument centres on workload: most of the Bok starting XV carried significantly less game time into this series than their All Black counterparts, with injury lay-offs, Nations Championship rotation, and a long club off-season meaning players like Etzebeth, Nche, Marx, Kolisi, and Feinberg-Mngomezulu were nowhere near overcooked when the series kicked off. Rich also notes that the first test loss likely forced Erasmus's hand — the cohesion deficit at Ellis Park made continuity of selection the logical corrective, and Cape Town vindicated it.
Beyond selection mechanics, Rich raises a bigger-picture point: these four RGR weeks are a de facto World Cup knockout rehearsal for both squads, and arguably tougher than what awaits in Australia given the relative weakness of the likely RWC bracket beyond a Bok-All Black quarterfinal. He flags that Erasmus has hinted at genuine squad rotation for Baltimore and notes that 30 players have already seen minutes — with the Australia leg providing further opportunity for fringe players. Worth the full read if you want to understand the logic threading Erasmus's selection calls across the whole series.