Erasmus warns Boks must stay focused despite missing stars for Cardiff clash

The Boks travel to Cardiff next Saturday aiming to complete a clean sweep of November victories following wins over Japan, France, Italy and Ireland, but with the match outside World Rugby's player-release window, several players must return to their clubs and will be unavailable.

The biggest setback is amongst the Japanese contingent, all of whom will be heading east for the start of the Japan Rugby League One season.

As a result, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese, Malcolm Marx, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Franco Mostert, Cheslin Kolbe and Manie Libbok will all be missing Saturday's fixture.

"A whole bunch of guys have to return to Japan. Some of the Japanese clubs asked us nicely, because they helped us for our match against Japan, which was also outside the Test window," Erasmus explained.

"So we will assess our injuries, but I guess there is about 14 or 15 guys who is here currently won't be available next week.

Sharks pair Edwill van der Merwe and Grant Williams will also leave the squad, while Edinburgh loosehead Boan Venter, Leinster lock RG Snyman and Bath tighthead Thomas du Toit are unavailable because of club regulations.

Wales are also set to be without a number of key players for the November 29 clash - 13 in all - including co-captain and lock Dafydd Jenkins, first-choice scrum-half Tomos Williams, star winger Louis Rees-Zammit, established centres Nick Tompkins and Max Llewellyn, loosehead prop Rhys Carre, and lock Adam Beard.

"It's the same for Wales," Erasmus added. "You can't get away from the rule there that guys may not play outside the window. We will now go and see how things stand with the injuries."

Despite the depleted squad, Erasmus emphasized that Saturday's match remains crucial, as a loss to 12th-ranked Wales would cost the Boks significant world ranking points - though not enough to jeopardize their top position heading into 2026.

"Some people might have expected us to beat Ireland because they are No 4 and we are No 1, but we still know that we can slip if we lose focus for the Test against Wales," he warned.

"I think we've used 50 players this year. Next year we can do more experiments. The first goal was just to finish in the top four so that with the World Cup draw we don't end up in a Group of Death."

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