Schalk Burger predicts Rassie Erasmus will ‘play games’ with Scott Robertson despite All Blacks ‘respect’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and All Blacks boss Scott Robertson.
Schalk Burger insists that Rassie Erasmus will not change his approach just because the All Blacks are coming to town.
South Africa’s head coach has become renowned for stirring the pot ahead of big Test matches.
His players have also tended to follow suit, highlighted by the build-up to the Ireland series which saw several Springboks throw barbs in the tourists’ direction.
Performances did the talking
That was in contrast to the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies, where Erasmus generally decided to play a straight bat.
However, with the tournament-deciding encounters against New Zealand coming up, Burger reckons that he could go on the attack, saying on the Boks Office podcast: “Of course it’s (mind games) coming.”
The former back-row therefore insists that it will differ from the usual build-up to All Blacks Tests, which he believes has generally been respectful.
“Traditionally, when we played the All Blacks, their media, our media, we stayed quite neutral,” the 41-year-old said.
“Whenever we play a team from the north, or the British and Irish Lions, there’s quite an aggressive sense from their media, saying: ‘This is what the Boks are, this is the history and this is what happened in the past, and this is Rassie’s video.’ Those things all linger.
“When we play the All Blacks, normally it’s quite placid because there’s a lot of respect between all parties involved. With this generation and Rassie, there’s always a little bit of a game to play in the media.”
Robertson-Erasmus connection
An intriguing subplot, which could well influence matters, comes with the fact that their playing careers overlapped.
Scott Robertson turned 50 on Wednesday and played his final Test in 2002, while 51-year-old Erasmus last represented the Springboks in 2001.
They faced off three times at international level with the Boks boss having the edge 2-1, but the new All Blacks head honcho would end with a winning 3-2 record against South Africa.
“You know what’s a bit different? It’s the fact that they played against each other, loose forward versus loose forward, Test match level,” former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers said.
“There’s a different element of respect I think. I’m not saying that Rassie disrespects the others, it’s more that on the field they played against each other, they put their bodies on the line, now they’re in different roles and up against each other [again].
“It will be interesting to see. I think it’s kind of part of the Bok tactics in a way now, so there will be an element.”
READ MORE: Springboks coach: ‘It was life-threatening, they gave me a 50% chance to live’
