Rassie Erasmus reflects on full circle moment for him with Springboks as Baltimore triumph ‘makes up in a big way’ for ‘awful’ first USA visit
Rassie Erasmus was in charge of the Springboks for his 100th Test when they faced the All Blacks in Baltimore.
100 Tests ago Rassie Erasmus brought a team to America for a match nobody wanted to see between two countries languishing outside the top five of rugby’s world rankings.
Erasmus capped 13 Springboks that day in Washington DC in 2018 and only 21,357 spectators turned up to watch. Wales did not even bother to bring their British and Irish Lions and still won the game.
“This makes up in a big way for that,” Erasmus said on Saturday night after going back to where his coaching journey with South Africa started and emphatically setting the record straight.
Less than 35 miles from the RFK Stadium and what he recalled as an “awful” first visit to the USA, Rassie’s Boks beat New Zealand 43-28 in Baltimore to clinch the inaugural Greatest Rivalry series by three wins to one.
Eight years on his team still featured Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Thomas du Toit and Andre Esterhuizen – survivors of the 22-20 loss to Wales in Erasmus’ first game in charge.
The Springboks are the best in the business
But having followed back-to-back World Cup triumphs with successive Rugby Championship titles the Boks are now the best in the business. And the hottest ticket in whichever town they play.
Their second ever game in the US drew a crowd of 68,173 to M&T Bank Stadium, a record for a rugby match Stateside. Those present saw the Boks beat the number two-ranked All Blacks for a third consecutive week.
Sitting in his press conference shortly after Siya Kolisi had lifted the trophy, Erasmus reflected on his dreadful start in America against Warren Gatland’s Wales and on how different life feels today.
But coach and captain were clear that because the fortunes of the team have changed for the better since 2018 guarantees nothing a year from now when the World Cup comes along.
“We cannot be satisfied with staying the same,” Kolisi said. “Because if we are, everyone is going to catch up with us.”
Erasmus nodded in agreement. “The margin between us and them (New Zealand) is this,” he added, indicating a tiny gap with his hand between thumb and index finger.
Perhaps, but since the loss to Wales, Erasmus has presided over 74 Test wins, a draw and only 24 defeats. In his third World Cup cycle he still has South Africa trending in an upwards direction.
Of their last 50 Tests the Boks have won 43. Those victories have come not only on home soil but across Europe: in London, Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh, Genoa and Turin.
They have come in Australia (Brisbane and Perth) and New Zealand (Wellington) and America, South (Buenos Aires) and North (Baltimore).
All the while Erasmus has worked to expand his playing base. With such success that, when the Boks destroyed Ireland in Dublin last autumn, Tommy Bowe remarked: “With the level of talent they’re able to bring off the bench, South Africa are the best TWO teams in the world.”
Damian de Allende and Pieter-Steph du Toit might have joined Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth in the 100-club during this series, but the coach has taken as much satisfaction from developing the likes of Morné van den Berg, Cameron Hanekom, Ethan Hooker and Zachary Porthen.
“It’s not for us to make a jersey cheap or just give caps away,” Erasmus explained. “But the average age of the team that played today was 31. It’s not a young team.
“Our experience from playing a series against a team like the British and Irish Lions, or the World Cup, is you have to have guys that are experienced, and can manage the pace of the game.
“But what we’ve tried to do for the last four, five years, is bring young guys in so that when it gets to the big tournaments it’s not their first time.
“Put them next to an older guy with a wise head, maybe not as fast anymore, maybe not as energetic anymore, but a calm head.
‘We try to get the balance right’
“It’s a calculated risk. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong. Sometimes we get a lot of flak for it and lose a game here or there. But we try to get the balance right.”
Results, allied to the testimony of Kolisi, confirm Erasmus gets it right far more often than not.
“When Rassie came in he had a plan on how to change things going forward,” Kolisi said. “He reminded us that the team is more important than the individual, but individuals make the team work.
“He made a group of South Africans from different parts of life all focus on one. We all came in with our different goals. We all wanted to achieve different things. We speak 11 languages in our team. We have got a lot of language in the group.
“But our main focus was to make the Springboks proud and make the people of South Africa proud. And he backed us, believed in us, fought for us, and that’s what made us want to play for him and play for the country.”
Codie Taylor, captain of the All Blacks in the absence of the injured Ardie Savea, assured his people back home that despite falling short in a series they led after a five-tries-to-one first Test victory at Ellis Park, “the country and this rugby team is in a good place”.
South Africa will take note given that, ludicrously, these two nations are likely to meet at the quarter-final stage of next year’s World Cup.
But Kolisi warned: “We are not focusing on what other people are doing. For us it’s about every single time trying to improve, get better and work on our own internal standards in the group.
“Never be satisfied with where we’re at.”
