All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan insists the Springboks’ late front-row changes had no psychological impact on the tourists.
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus swapped his starting and replacement front rows shortly before kick-off of Saturday’s second Test in Cape Town, promoting Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit to the starting lineup, with Ox Nché, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw moving to the bench.
Erasmus later explained that the Boks had initially selected a heavier front row because rain was forecast, before changing tack when it became clear conditions would be dry.
MORE: Cape weather rained on Erasmus’ plans
Ryan said the All Blacks had prepared for both combinations.
“Traditionally, you’ll know when we’ve played South Africa, if a team’s been named at the start of the week, there’s often changes at the back end of the week.
“They kept the same ones, they just reversed them with starting and finishing. So we’d prepared for them either way around.”
At one point during the Test, the Cape Town crowd broke into a rendition of the Cranberries’ “Zombie”, chanting “he’s in your head” in reference to Erasmus’ reputation for playing mind games.
Asked whether the Bok coach had indeed got inside his head, Ryan laughed: “No, no, he’s not in my head. My forward pack are in my head.”
RASSIE: We not f**king walking around!
The scrum has become a major talking point in the series, with All Blacks coach Dave Rennie raising concerns with World Rugby after the first Test about the Boks allegedly “walking around” at the set-piece.
Following the Cape Town Test, Rennie said: “It’s still a bit of an issue for us because they’re able to walk around and go straight through our tightheads. So a couple of little technical things that we’ll share again.”
That prompted a furious response from Erasmus.
“It’s the first time in history that these people are talking about us walking around. So why would we want to start walking around now?” he said.
“So don’t come with that nonsense and say we’re walking around, and try and put things out in the media.”
Erasmus later added: “We not f**king walking around. We scrum straight. We’ve never, ever, ever been accused of walking around, so I don’t understand.”
ALSO: Ox not happy about wasted scrum time
Ryan, though, dismissed the exchange as part of the theatre surrounding international rugby.
“It’s a bit of friendly fire, isn’t it?” he said. “There’s been some interesting comments made in the media and that sort of thing, but that’s the pressure of Test footy.”
Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
The post ‘Rassie’s not in my head’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan insists the Springboks’ late front-row changes had no psychological impact on the tourists.
The post ‘Rassie’s not in my head’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
