Mike Tindall and Jonny May reckon Rassie Erasmus deliberately creates problems for the Springboks, using setbacks to expose weaknesses and build depth for the future.
The former England internationals were speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby XTRA podcast after the Springboks’ 42-38 defeat by the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday.
They discussed the impact of Erasmus’ 13 starting XV changes for the one-off Test from the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry decider almost three weeks ago.
Erasmus admitted the world champions only had themselves to blame, while acknowledging that the lack of recent combinations played a role in the match outcome.
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Tindall, though, doesn’t think the two-time World Cup winner is at all concerned with the result.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect anything that Rassie does. He’s always looking at the next thing. He’s never looking back or looking at right now,” the ex-skipper and centre said.
“He knows what he’s got and how good the depth is, but he wants bigger depth.
“He wants more exposure. You give these guys exposure, and then they lose, and then you can go: ‘Right, this is where you’ve got to get to. That’s not good enough.’
“It’s playing games within games.”
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Erasmus was characteristically calculating throughout Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. He made late selection switches, including swapping his front row shortly before kick-off of the second Test, and swore during a heated press conference after Dave Rennie accused the Boks of walking around at scrum time.
“Also, some of these really high-achieving, crazy coaches almost get a bit uncomfortable when everything is going so well,” winger May added. “I think they just like to disrupt things and cause a few problems so that they can go even more crazy.
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“These top coaches just have a lot of time to think, and they come up with some crazy ideas. ‘Yeah, it would be good if they lost this week, guys, wouldn’t it? And then we can do this, and then we can do this training …’
“But, honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me. They are steps and miles ahead of everybody.”
Photo: @Springboks/X
The post Ex-England stars: Rassie’s gone ‘crazy’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Mike Tindall and Jonny May reckon Rassie Erasmus deliberately creates problems for the Springboks, using setbacks to expose weaknesses and build depth for the future.
The post Ex-England stars: Rassie’s gone ‘crazy’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
