It's no secret that the Bok Brains Trust has been building depth over the last two seasons in preparation for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and beyond. The 2026 international season is a trying one, with Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Tour and the inaugural Nations Championship adding up to 12 Tests - 13 if the Boks make the Nations Championship final.
As such, when locks kept falling by the wayside earlier this year, Erasmus was rightfully concerned.
"We've been depleted in certain areas at some stage when Kwagga [Smith], RG [Snyman], Lood [de Jager], Franco Mostert, Eben [Etzebeth] and Salmaan [Moerat] were all injured," Erasmus told the press this week.
"We were down to Riley Norton, and Ben-Jason [Dixon] started playing lock; now we're in a healthy position.
"RG will be back early next year; Salmaan, who I saw recently, is off to France [La Rochelle] and he'll start playing in a month and a half's time.
"On the other side, Ruan [Nortje] established himself as one of our solid No.5 locks who can play at the highest level. It also helped to give a guy like Ben-Jason a chance or two at lock, and we gave Cobus Wiese a run there.
"Luckily, now most of the older guys are injury-free, and the three locks who are playing this weekend. Franco Mostert is actually also available for this game. We'll probably give him a run against Australia. The lock position was a big worry."
Moving on to the game drivers, scrumhalves Grant Williams and Cobus Reinach were jockeying for starting positions in the matchday 23, with the veteran currently favoured against the All Blacks. Bulls flyer Embrose Papier was also handed an opportunity against Scotland.
At flyhalf, the position is fiercely contested, with Sacha Feinberg Mngomezulu, Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok all bringing something different to the mix.
"At scrumhalf we weren't too sure how Cobus' legs would hold up, but he's still doing the job at 35 years old," continued Erasmus.
"We had a look-in at Faf [de Klerk]; we know where he is in his game whilst he's playing for the Cheetahs.
"We have three proper flyhalves with Damian [Willemse], who can also slot in at No.10 – a guy like Quan Horn is coming through at fullback with [Aphelele] Fassi, and we gave Embrose a run.
"I don't think there's an area where we're in trouble - I think we're doing okay."
Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids believes the team's form stems from sustained hard graft, growing squad depth, and a set-piece that provides a solid platform for both attack and defence.
Dave Rennie has conceded that referee Nika Amashukeli was consistent in showing Ruben Love a yellow card in the third Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test match against the Springboks.
Springbok No. 8 Jasper Wiese revealed that they are fully focused on their clash with the All Blacks despite the enormity of the occasion in Baltimore.
John Smit believes Malcolm Marx has established himself as the greatest hooker ever to represent the Springboks.
