While insisting he’s not shielding his Springbok players, Rassie Erasmus doesn’t want members of the team to have to explain losing to the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
“Sometimes, when we win, players and coaches take a lot of the credit but when we lose, the players often shoulder the blame,” the Bok boss said.
Erasmus was speaking on Tuesday alongside veteran scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, in the build-up to Saturday’s second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in Cape Town, where the world champions aim to win after last week’s 33-16 defeat.
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“[Last Saturday’s] game was very much about decisions I made during the week – trying to change things up, maybe being too clever, making substitutions at the wrong time and perhaps over-analysing our plans,” Erasmus added.
“It came down to the plans we made as a coaching team.”
He highlighted the early injury to Kurt-Lee Arendse as a factor that unsettled the Boks backline, forcing Jesse Kriel to shift to the wing and Damian de Allende into outside centre, before wing cover Grant Williams also went down injured.
“That is not on the players and maybe down to bad planning.”
Asked what is different in the camp this week, given that the Boks have lost their No 1 world ranking to New Zealand, Erasmus replied: “They’re definitely sleeping less!
“We’re proud South Africans. When we went out onto the field, we could see the fans and what it means to people, so we are desperate to win this game.
“We are playing a very good side, the No 1 team in the world on Saturday. It comes down to executing the plan, staying aligned and bringing intensity to training sessions.”
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Pressed on whether he was protecting his players from scrutiny, Erasmus said: “No, I’m not shielding them. The truth is that a lot of the things we asked of them, they did.
“The plan didn’t win the match for us, but the players certainly didn’t lose it for us either. I’m taking responsibility for the decisions we made. We are a group.
“I don’t want the players to sit here and explain why we lost if it was more on me. I’m simply trying to be honest, not shielding them.”
Photo: Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images
The post Rassie takes responsibility for ‘being too clever’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
While insisting he’s not shielding his Springbok players, Rassie Erasmus doesn’t want members of the team to have to explain losing to the All Blacks at Ellis Park.
The post Rassie takes responsibility for ‘being too clever’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
