Sir Steve Hansen: Rassie Erasmus is the ‘master of sabotage’; he will send you one way and go the other
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and an inset of ex-All Blacks boss Sir Steve Hansen.
Sir Steve Hansen has hailed Rassie Erasmus as a ‘master of sabotage’ and has warned Dave Rennie against taking what he says too seriously.
The build-up to the Springboks’ clash against the All Blacks in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series opener at Ellis Park has been dominated by the narrative around the speed of the game.
Rennie has repeatedly stated that he wants his team to play a fast-paced game and limit the amount of dead time in matches, backing his team’s fitness and athleticism.
Meanwhile, the South Africans have been accused of slowing down the tempo of matches through feigning injuries, huddling before lineouts and wasting time before scrums.
Rassie Erasmus is a master of sabotage
Erasmus clearly took umbrage to the narrative, openly stating that he brought former referee Jaco Peyper, who is SA Rugby’s law advisor, with him to Monday’s press conference to address the debate.
“My opinion is New Zealand has played four matches, and there’s certainly been a narrative out there which I think is very technical around the speed of the game, the slowing down of the game, and Jaco is better able to answer those questions because he helps us with all those technical things around laws and so on,” said the Springboks boss.
Peyper went in depth about the shot clocks that World Rugby is imposing around the setting of scrums and lineouts, with Erasmus then referencing the games between South Africa and New Zealand last year as examples of matches that didn’t lack pace.
Appearing on DSPN with Martin Devlin, Hansen was asked whether he agreed with the Springboks’ head coach, and the 2015 Rugby World Cup-winning boss said that he wouldn’t take too much note of what Erasmus had to say.
“Look, I wouldn’t listen too much to anything Rassie says. He’s the master of sabotage. He’ll tell you one thing and do the complete opposite. He’ll have a style of game that he thinks will suit the Boks,” he said.
“We can all guess that they’re going to be physical; they are going to put the ball in the air. It’s a few little bits he puts around that we’ll have to deal with.
“He’s a master at sending you one way and then going the other. So, I personally wouldn’t be taking too much notice of what he says. I’ll just be concentrating on what I do know and how they’ll play, but more importantly, I’ll be concentrating on how I want us to play. And I’m sure that’s what Dave and his team will be doing.
“Rassie does that for all the fans. All of us fans jump into that bit.”
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How the Springboks boss uses the media to his advantage
During the same press conference, Erasmus said that because World Rugby has decided to stop individual pre-match referee meetings, coaches had to voice their concerns about the game in the media. These meetings are still possible, but both coaches have to be present.
Hansen added that the Boks boss is a master at using the media to get certain messages out.
“When you’re talking to the media, there are certain messages you want to put across, and it’s all about doing something that’s going to be positive for your team, and he’s very good at that; he loves it,” the ex-All Blacks coach explained.
“It’s not actually the media he’s playing; it’s everybody: the fans, the media and some opposition if they buy into everything he is saying.
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“You have just given us an example of what he’s capable of doing. So he’s not the only one who does it; most of the coaches do it. He just does it really well.
“The media will write whatever they get told; the really good ones might challenge it, but most of them will just write what you tell them. So, what’s the message you want out there? Tell them that, and then it’ll be out there.”
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