Ex-All Black’s Springboks ‘concern’ after Rassie Erasmus’ shock admission as Dave Rennie catches world champions ‘off-guard’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and All Blacks boss Dave Rennie.
James Parsons stated that Rassie Erasmus’ brutally honest post-match comments were particularly revealing following the All Blacks’ victory over the Springboks on Saturday.
The South Africa head honcho admitted the coaching staff potentially got it wrong when preparing for the first New Zealand Test, particularly with the way the tourists defended.
Erasmus revealed that the Boks were not expecting to see the All Blacks attempt to rip the ball and hold up players in the tackle so often.
As a result, it led to a number of errors from the back-to-back world champions as they failed to take advantage of a number of good chances that they created.
Rassie’s admission
“It is a concern, though, I don’t think you’ve seen Rassie say: ‘We weren’t prepared’ for something. That’s the first time I’ve actually heard him say that,” Parsons said on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.
“Normally, he has the side so well prepared and expecting everything, I think that was an inkling that maybe they caught them off-guard in something.
“Now we’ve got to remember from Eden Park to Wellington, you know that they’ll make the adjustments.”
While Parsons expects the Springboks to change accordingly and bring something different to the party, he also believes that the All Blacks can get better,
“The exciting part is that is when I think we will be able to line up the coaching groups a little bit because you think Dave Rennie and his crew will innovate a little bit and change things up so it’s not going to be the same picture as well,” he added.
It was a remarkable result and performance from the tourists considering it was just their fourth Test and seventh game overall under the new head coach.
If they continue to improve, then New Zealand will no doubt be among the favourites for the Rugby World Cup title next year.
Rennie continues impressive start
“I think the build-up and where we’ve come from, from where we started, he’s done an amazing job,” Parsons’ fellow former All Blacks front-rower Angus Ta’avao said.
“I’m not going to compare apples to oranges, I think they (Rennie and Erasmus) both operate in a different way, but I do love the words Dave Rennie is saying.
“He’s not content with that win, it’s ‘we’ve got a lot to work on, we’re still in our infancy, we’re still learning, we’re still getting better’, but he was proud.
“You can be proud because of the work they’ve put in and each week we’ve talked about they’re just getting better.”
All Blacks centurion Mils Muliaina also had his say on the victory where he praised their “skill execution” as they managed to cross the whitewash five times.
“It wasn’t perhaps as free-flowing as they would have wanted. They weren’t getting that dominant ball carry in the middle of the park and then they started to get tired bodies because they went from side to side.
“What I liked about it was the skill execution and also the connection. They knew their plan, they didn’t panic even though they were in their own half and when it came to kick, they kicked for space and that’s what I liked about it.”
