Rassie Erasmus reveals his World Cup mantra that ‘p***ed off’ the Springboks
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi Kolisi lifting the trophy in the final.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus has revealed his mantra for the Rugby World Cup, which he believes initially “p***ed off” the coaching staff and players yet proved to be a stroke of genius.
South Africa was drawn in a tough Rugby World Cup pool for 2023, along with Scotland and Ireland, both ranked in the top ten in the world rankings, the challenging Pacific Islanders Tonga and, finally, Romania.
In a Chasing the Sun 2 extra, Erasmus revealed that the coaches and players were analysing French and Irish club teams extensively in the build-up to the World Cup, but the then director of rugby wanted a shift in focus.
“Four big games”
He explained that if the Boks were to defend their World Cup title, they would need to win just four of their big games at the tournament.
“In theory, we had four big games Scotland or Ireland, so if you beat Scotland you have another three big games they were quarter-final, semi-final and final because you should beat Tonga,” Erasmus said in a Betway exclusive.
“If we lost to Scotland, then we haven’t played one of our four big games, but then we had to beat Ireland, and so I didn’t have a preference in [playing] New Zealand or France for the quarter-final.
🚨EXCLUSIVE #ChasingtheSun2 Content🚨
🗣️Rassie: "I didn't have a preference in playing either New Zealand or France in the Quarter Finals!"
"In theory we had 4⃣ big games we had to win!"
📹Rassie shares his vision that he shared with the @Springboks going into the 2024 RWC! pic.twitter.com/8vGZLErDdy
— Betway ZA (@Betway_za) March 26, 2024
“So when the guys were analysing them, and they did a sh**load of analysing, and I said ‘Guys but just take your focus off La Rochelle and off Leinster and off how they play; Scotland only has two teams, Glasgow [Warriors] and Edinburgh’.
“Our big game is Scotland [not Ireland]. And I think everybody was a bit p***ed off that day when I said that, and of course trends in European Cup or in Challenge Cup or in URC that doesn’t go over into Test rugby. Test rugby is a totally different beast, totally different things happening in Test rugby.
“But there I think the mind shift change to the motto that it is four big World Cup games that we have to win.”
Quiz: Can you name the ten most capped Springboks of all-time?
The World Cup is tougher than the Rugby Championship
The Boks would go on to defeat Scotland in their second pool match but would lose to Ireland six days later. Despite that defeat, South Africa still progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and would eventually go on to win the tournament after defeating France, England and New Zealand.
Erasmus added that those four “big games” make the World Cup more challenging to win than the Rugby Championship, despite the latter being six tough Test matches.
“[Winning those four games] is sometimes tougher than the Rugby Championship, when you play a full-on Rugby Championship, you play New Zealand twice, you play Australia twice, you play Argentina twice – that’s six very tough games, but it was basically four games,” he added.
Erasmus has taken over the head coach job of the Springboks after Jacques Nienaber coached the side to the title in 2023. It will be his second tenure in charge of the side which kicks off with a neutral Test match against Wales at Twickenham.
READ MORE: Fans left in awe by Springboks prop Ox Nche’s DEMOLITION of Ulster pack
