Springboks use old Rassie Erasmus tactics at Rugby World Cup

Jared Wright 10 Sep 2023 5:00 PM

Springboks assistant coach Felix Jones signals for the South Africa players during the Rugby World Cup match with Scotland.

The Springboks are back using old Rassie Erasmus tactics during their Rugby World Cup, it emerged on Sunday.

South Africa started their title defence with a Pool B clash with Scotland at the Stade de Marseille.

In a closely fought first half, it was South Africa who led at the break leading by 6-3 thanks to two Manie Libbok penalties.

However, what was really interesting during the tight encounter was to see the Springboks revert to old tactics that Erasmus infamously used back during his days coaching the Cheetahs.

DJ Rassie

Back in 2006, was famously dubbed ‘DJ Rassie’ as he used lights to send signals to his players on the pitch.

Erasmus used controversial tactics during the 2006 Currie Cup with the Cheetahs, erecting coloured lamps on the roof of the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

He initially used coloured cards but switched to lamps, which were more effective.

“It’s something we came up with after the introduction of the technical areas for on-field backup personnel,” Erasmus said at the time.

“The medical team are not allowed to run around anymore, and we believe this system works better than radios. It also enables me to signal trends or instructions to be relayed to the players because I very much doubt that they can be involved in the game while also keeping an eye on the lights,” he added.

Erasmus used a similar tactic during the warm-up match against Wales before the World Cup but used cones instead of lights.

*NOT a signal.

Fair play to Rassie; he is more subtle nowadays. pic.twitter.com/zHvUEYncI5

— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) August 21, 2023

However, on Sunday, it was back to the lights as cameras caught Springboks’ assistant coach Felix Jones signalling to the players to take a shot at goal instead of going to the corner.