Sir John Kirwan’s Rassie Erasmus ‘conspiracy theory’ which is ‘pretty sad’ for Greatest Rivalry tour
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan.
Sir John Kirwan believes that the All Blacks’ three tour games have not provided adequate preparation for the Springboks due to the intervention of Rassie Erasmus.
Dave Rennie’s men head into the Test series off the back of three successive victories in South Africa after defeating the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls.
While the Cape Town clash proved to be a difficult opener for New Zealand, they put away the latter two teams with relative ease.
Kirwan has suggested that the All Blacks have not been tested enough in the fundamentals of the game, something the Boks are renowned for, and claims it is down to Erasmus.
“I think it’s a bit more of a conspiracy theory out there, I think Rassie’s told those provincial sides to play nothing like the Springboks, we haven’t even seen high kicks,” he told the Rivals podcast.
“We haven’t seen kicking to the corner and a lot of mauling, there’s been no resemblance to what we’re expecting.”
Lack of Springboks made available
Erasmus also decided to keep the majority of his players in camp with only a few released back to the franchises for the tour games.
“I think it’s pretty sad for the relationship and for the tour. I get it, I would do exactly the same if I was Rassie and not release the players, but it is a bit disappointing for the South African public I believe because they’re not turning up to watch,” Kirwan said.
The All Blacks legend was joined on the show by ex-Springboks record cap holder Victor Matfield, who disagreed with the former wing.
“I thought the Bulls game was a spectacle, the people enjoyed it. I was there, the opening, the new Loftus, the lights, it was just unbelievable. People were going crazy in the second half when the Bulls came back so I think the fans enjoyed it,” Matfield said.
“Ticket prices are very expensive for the South Africans and there are a lot of Test matches so a lot of the guys need to pick them.
“There are two games at the Highveld so a lot of the guys who would have gone to Loftus have paid to either go to Ellis Park or Soweto.”
Matfield also backed Erasmus over his decision to not release more players to face the All Blacks.
“The most important thing is the Test match on Saturday so whatever Rassie needs to prepare for the Test matches is what you need to do,” he added.
“Everyone that’s there is still in the running, it was probably the right decision.
“I did enjoy that he did send back Johan Grobbelaar and Elrigh Louw, and they definitely made a difference in that second half, but unfortunately with our decision to let players play overseas the depth in our provincial teams just isn’t the same as they were 15 or 20 years ago.”
‘Tried to play like the All Blacks’
Kirwan didn’t let it drop, however, and was unhappy with the way the Bulls in particular approached their clash against the All Blacks.
“The Bulls coach comes up and says: ‘Hi Victor, I’m a South African and guess what, I’m going to try and play the All Blacks at their own game’,” he said..
“Wouldn’t you sack him straight away? What’s he doing there? Is he on something? It just smells of conspiracy, it smells of conspiracy for me.
“Rassie’s told the bloody provincial sides to do that and that’s what they’ve done. There wasn’t even a box-kick was there? They were way too long, and there were a couple of random kicks in the middle of the field.
“It’s a conspiracy, I’m not buying any of this stuff.”
READ MORE: ‘Everyone talks about Springboks set-piece, but they’ve grown’ – All Blacks coach
