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'Life's going on as per normal': Absent Erasmus still an influence
Jacques Nienaber has given an insight into how much influence Rassie Erasmus is still having on the Springboks even though he hasn’t travelled to the Gold Coast in Australia for their remaining matches in the Rugby Championship. Facing a misconduct charge from World Rugby due to his criticism of the match officials in the wake of the first Lions series Test in Cape Town on July 24, South African director of rugby Erasmus decided not to take the 11,600km trip to Brisbane with Nienaber and his squad when they departed on August 26.
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SA Rugby outlined that Erasmus could yet link up with the Springboks squad near the end of the Championship, which concludes with back-to-back matches versus the All Blacks following the upcoming double-header versus the Wallabies.
In the meantime, though, the under-fire boss is still having his say on team affairs, according to Nienaber, who used his team announcement media conference on Wednesday to outline the current dynamic in their director of rugby/head coach relationship even though they are at the moment based on different continents.
“From my side, I had a conversation (with Rassie) ten, 15 minutes ago,” he said after naming a starting XV to face Australia showing seven changes from the team that defeated Argentina on August 21. “The key thing between myself and Rassie on a personal level is that we operate a little bit differently than the normal director of rugby, head coach. Even when he was head coach, I was an assistant coach.
“We operate a little bit differently and the best way to describe that is we are not confined by our job titles. Being director of rugby almost puts you in a box and you operate in that scope, but we don’t work like that. We know between the two of us, I have got certain responsibilities and Rassie has got certain responsibilities but in all my responsibilities he gives input.
The 6/2 forwards/backs bench split is nothing unusual for the Springboks but their cover for next Sunday on the Gold Coast has given their bomb squad a strange-looking twist#RugbyChampionship #Springboks #AUSvRSA
https://t.co/pmamTyiQss— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 8, 2021
“Not only him but the other coaching staff, the medical staff as well and vice-versa with Rassie, he will have certain aspects that he is responsible for but I will give him input. In that sense, it sounds weird but our life is going on between myself and him as per normal. He is engaging with our team as per normal. The one positive about Covid is that technology has made the world small. You can be inside somebody else’s living room within ten seconds. We go through the same weekly programme and structure that we would have done if he was here (in Australia) and hats off to him in terms of almost flipping his day and night around to fit in with our schedule… for me literally sitting here it’s business as usual in terms of our working relationship.”
Sunday’s match is the first for the Springboks away from home since their November 2019 World Cup final win over England in Japan, but it’s not their first without Erasmus present with them in the flesh. He wasn’t with us the week of the first Argentina Test and there were certain days (during the Lions) he wouldn’t go to the team,” continued Nienaber.
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“Let’s say, he has got director of rugby stuff that he has got to adhere to, sometimes he won’t go with us to training sessions, he won’t travel with us on the bus to Test matches on the day. He will come a little bit later because he has got some stuff that he is responsible for from a director of rugby point of view.
“He has been with us the majority of the time but there have been aspects where he hasn’t been part of. That Test match against Argentina, he wasn’t there the whole week but he was with us virtually online. But this will be the first time he is not with us on tour since 2018 that we have been travelling together.”
The Springboks love a proverb. If it isn't argumentative donkeys, then it's urinating canines…#RugbyChampionship #springbokshttps://t.co/tFetw4LfsV
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
11 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments