The surprise absence of Embrose Papier from a 44-man squad to face Argentina on August 8 does not mean the in-form scrumhalf is out of contention to play for the Springboks against the All Blacks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, coach Rassie Erasmus says. Speaking ahead of his team’s departure for Buenos Aires on Saturday, Erasmus said the decision was about game time and squad management rather than a lack of confidence in the Bulls star.“There are a few players who we released to the franchises; a guy like Embrose is a classic example,” Erasmus said.“We have to get game time into Morné van den Berg and Cobus Reinach, so the two of them will go to Argentina if there isn’t an injury.“If we take Embrose with them, he doesn’t have the opportunity to train with the Bulls ahead of their match against the All Blacks on August 15.“Herschel Jantjies doesn’t have any club commitments with Bayonne now; that’s why he will go with us.”The Bulls are set to face the All Blacks at Loftus before the opening Test at Ellis Park, and Erasmus says those URC club clashes could become an important audition for players still pushing for places in the Bok squad.“Those kinds of things are going to be interesting — how Embrose performs against the All Blacks, how prop Ntuthuko Mchunu performs for the Stormers, and flyhalf Vusi Moyo for the Sharks.“We’ll try and release the guys who we feel might not be involved in the first Test match against New Zealand.“But also, guys can play themselves in; if some guys don’t do well in Argentina, some guys are not 100% fit, and some guys shine against the All Blacks.“So that’s a nice thing to look at.“The squad for the RGR will only be 100% finalised after the Argentina match because we will be releasing players to their franchises.“Taking a player on tour without being able to give him a game for his franchise against the All Blacks would not be the right thing, but we also don’t want to release players if we’re not 100% sure we’re covered in those positions for the All Black Tests.“So as far as we can release players without jeopardising squad depth, we’ll try to do so. We might also still release more players from the group if they don’t get enough game time in the Springbok Tests.”Erasmus said he has not studied the All Black squad in depth yet because his focus is on Argentina.“The only thing that has stood out for me at the moment is that they have only chosen three scrumhalves,” he said.“With four provincial games, it appears that all three will have to be involved in every game.“In terms of styles, we have the same question ourselves. If we played Sacha, Handré Pollard or Manie Libbok at flyhalf, would one mean a kicking game and another mean more of a running game by us?“Our style will be determined by who we pick and what we learn from how the All Blacks go in the matches against the clubs.“First and foremost, we want to beat Argentina, just like every other team; we want to win every Test match we play.“Then there’s the bigger picture.“The Rugby World Cup, which is close to a year away, but you also have to respect the team you play next week.”