Rassie Erasmus has highlighted the Springboks’ previous experience of playing the All Blacks on neutral ground and their determination to play for the fans back home.
The world champions head into the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series decider with a 2-1 lead after beating the All Blacks in front of almost 86,000 fans at FNB Stadium in the third Test.
However, the fourth and final Test will take place on American soil at the 71,000-capacity M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
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Erasmus’ Boks are no strangers to facing the All Blacks on neutral ground.
During the lockdown-hit 2021 Rugby Championship, the Boks played the All Blacks twice in Australia, suffering a 19-17 defeat in Townsville before bouncing back to win the second encounter 31-29 on the Gold Coast.
Those Tests came after the Boks had beaten the British & Irish Lions 2-1 in a home series played behind closed doors due to lockdown restrictions.
The Boks then thrashed the All Blacks 35-7 in a 2023 World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham before edging their arch-rivals 12-11 in the World Cup final at the Stade de France.
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Asked about facing the All Blacks in Baltimore, Erasmus said the rugby field remained the same.
“Neutral ground is still 70m by 100m. I guess it’s going to be a good crowd. The only thing that we’ll really miss is our home support, and [the All Blacks] will also miss their home support.
“We have played them on neutral ground many times, at World Cups, at Twickenham – pool matches, World Cup semi-finals, finals and things like that. So it’s going to be a hell of a match.”
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The change in atmosphere will be significant after the emotional scenes at FNB Stadium, but Erasmus said the Boks have plenty of experience to draw on when it comes to finding motivation without their supporters in the stands.
“We played a British & Irish Lions series in front of no crowds in South Africa, when we were 1-0 down. We’ve played in Covid times in the Rugby Championship in Australia when there were almost no South Africans there because you couldn’t get out of the country.
“So we try to remind ourselves a lot of that.
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“The big thing is, although the people are not here – and New Zealand are in the same boat, their people are also not here – we’ve had this experience many times against New Zealand, and many times we’ve been on the losing side.
“But our motivation is never about something else.
“We saw last weekend again how South Africa supports us. After the first one we lost, some people turned against you, but the majority stayed positive and supported.
“We remember those things and we’re obviously going to play for them.”
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The post Rassie: We’ll really miss our home support appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Rassie Erasmus has highlighted the Springboks’ previous experience of playing the All Blacks on neutral ground and their determination to play for the fans back home.
The post Rassie: We’ll really miss our home support appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
