Eben Etzebeth credits ‘genius’ Rassie Erasmus for dominant tour as Springboks great looks ahead to ‘awesome’ All Blacks Tests
Springboks legend Eben Etzebeth and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Eben Etzebeth believes that head coach Rassie Eramus has been key to the Springboks’ successive victories over the Wallabies.
South Africa defeated Australia 33-7 in their Rugby Championship opener last weekend but the Boks boss sprung a surprise by making 10 changes for the Perth encounter.
It was a significant gamble but one that paid off as the Springboks claimed a 30-12 triumph over the Wallabies on Saturday.
‘Good squad effort’
“Rassie is a genius. He’s trying to build squad depth. The guys that started tonight were great, and then obviously the guys on the bench came on to finish it, so it was a good squad effort this whole tour,” Etzebeth told Stan Sport.
“It’s been an amazing two weeks coming down here and getting two victories. It doesn’t happen a lot, the Wallabies are a quality outfit. The guys played well tonight and last week, of course.
“Especially in that first half, with the shots they were firing, [it was tough]. We enjoyed it and we knew they were going to come out hard tonight and that’s exactly what they did. It was a good result in the end.”
The world-class lock started the first Test against Australia but he was relegated to a bench role for the contest in Perth. However, he came on and earned another cap, which drew him level with Bryan Habana on 124.
Not that it particularly concerned Etzebeth, who is not desperate for any personal accolades. The 32-year-old is now just three appearances behind Victor Matfield’s all-time record, but the team takes precedence for the great second-row.
“I’m just happy about the victory, I’m not interested in any records,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable team and I’m just happy with this tour.”
South Africa’s focus now switches to the double-header against the All Blacks, with the opening Test taking place in Johannesburg in two weeks’ time.
“It’s going to be awesome. I saw they did a number on Argentina tonight, so it will be two great Test matches back in South Africa,” Etzebeth added.
Australian view
The Springboks, for the second week in a row, proved too strong for the Wallabies, who will look to pick up their first Rugby Championship win against Argentina on August 31.
Joe Schmidt’s men were better in Perth, particularly in the first half, but once again they struggled with the power that South Africa brought.
“They turned up, they played some good footy and I guess they won the big moments. I felt we weren’t far off but we’ve got to win those big moments,” number eight Harry Wilson said.
“We’re a new team, we’re working hard together and we’re going to continue to work hard. We know that if we keep working and improving, we’re going to win those moments.
“We lost a bit of front foot ball, made a few silly errors. I guess we started to lose our fundamentals, which is what we pride ourselves on, and that really hurt us in that second half.”
