Rassie Erasmus: World Rugby ‘succeeding’ in achieving their controversial aims but World Cup ‘high stakes’ could reverse current trend
Springboks scoring a try via Jesse Kriel and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus reckons that while attack currently rules rugby union, the World Cup could once again prove to be the antithesis.
South Africa have fought hard to keep the fundamentals of the game in place, but World Rugby believe that more tries result in more excitement and, ultimately, more eyes on the sport.
The global governing body has therefore looked to depower the scrum, a typical Boks strength, while also speeding up play in other areas of the game.
It has duly resulted in a faster game and more points, with attack very much on top of the defence at the moment.
Erasmus contests World Rugby view
Erasmus contests the notion that it makes it a better sport, however, as the Springboks boss reckons that it is the variety which makes it appealing.
“There’s a big drive from a lot of people to say attack is the beautiful part of the game, [but] we like to think defence is, we like to think scrums are, we think the kicking game is, we think sidesteps are, we thinking passing is – we like to think all parts of the game are and that’s what makes our game special,” he told reporters after naming his team for Saturday’s Argentina Test.
“World Rugby is definitely driving and supporting the attacking side of the game a hell of a lot. If that’s their main goal, they’re succeeding because there are lots of big scores, probably for both teams combined 60 or 70 points.
“If that’s the spectacle, but for us a spectacle is sometimes just a really tense Test match where it’s one or two points.”
It is just over a year to go until the 2027 World Cup where the Springboks are looking for an unprecedented three-peat having claimed the title in 2019 and 2023.
Those successes were built on the foundations of defence, set-piece, physicality and kicking, but South Africa have looked to expand their game since then due to World Rugby’s emphasis on the attacking side of the sport.
Springboks still number one
Despite those changes, which the governing body hopes will have a positive impact on the next global tournament, they have managed to remain at number one
It will therefore be interesting to see whether that ambition continues in the big knockout matches next year, but Erasmus believes that there could be a more conservative approach.
“The nerves in the pool games are not so much… [but] I’ve always found that if you go through the round-of-16, quarter-final, semi-final, final, it becomes more of a defensive thing because of the pressure and the stakes are really high,” he said.
“I guess in the pool games, attack will probably be pretty important but, for the teams that go further, I think defence will be pretty important.”
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