Rassie Erasmus admits the appointment of former England analyst Joe Lewis gives the Springboks an edge ahead of Saturday’s Nations Championship clash at Ellis Park.
Lewis joined the Boks after working with England during this year’s Six Nations, which followed the return of former England assistant Felix Jones to the world champions.
Erasmus said Lewis’ inside knowledge would benefit the Boks, but pointed out that the exchange of expertise between rival nations is nothing new.
“Without a doubt [it is an advantage],” Erasmus said on Monday. “It is like when [assistant coach] Matthew Proudfoot moved away from us in 2019 and the next year we played England.
“There’s a guy called Byron McGuigan and he spent a whole week with us as Sale Sharks coach and I am pretty sure he has a lot of stuff.
“Eddie Jones moved from England to Australia and then Australia to Japan so obviously some IP gets transferred and it is the same with Joe.”
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Erasmus said the Boks had been looking to strengthen their analysis department and moved quickly when Lewis became available.
“We always had only one analyst but when you look at any of the tier-one nations some have five and I think the French have got eight guys. I know England also have a lot.
“We were looking for another analyst and Joe was available. Obviously we scan everywhere.
“Paddy [Sullivan] is an Irishman but he worked in the French league a lot so you get some good info and some good things that they do in the league analysis-wise.
“If you get a guy of his calibre available it is just fantastic to have him here and he was available.”
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The post Rassie: Ex-England analyst gives Boks advantage appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rassie Erasmus admits the appointment of former England analyst Joe Lewis gives the Springboks an edge ahead of Saturday’s Nations Championship clash at Ellis Park.
The post Rassie: Ex-England analyst gives Boks advantage appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
