Rassie Erasmus makes astonishing claim about 2019 Rugby World Cup
Rassie Erasmus has made a startling claim about the Springboks’ victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The SA director of rugby, who was the national team’s head coach at the finals in Japan, was last month filmed addressing the current squad at its first alignment training camp ahead of the upcoming 2023 finals in France.
The behind-the-scenes footage is part of the latest episode of Inside the Boks, the documentary series charting the South African national team as it looks to successfully defend its world title. In the latest 24-minute episode, Erasmus was filmed on February 19 at the Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town addressing a raft of domestically based Springboks such as Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Damian Willemse.
In it, he outlined his outlook for 2023 and astonishingly claimed that the Springbo0ks’ 2019 victory was a bonus as the glory that management had targeted upon taking charge in 2018 was Rugby World Cup 2023.
Addressing the squad while standing next to a whiteboard that he filled liberally with buzzwords, Erasmus began: “How we are thinking of preparing in 2023 was actually started thinking in 2018. When we were appointed as coaches, we started thinking about 2023. 2019 was a bonus, but 2023 was always our big plan. We were looking at our squad age and when the guys were going to mature, what we have to bring in.
“We want to go to the (2023) World Cup and win. We want to be the first team in history to win it four times. We want to be the first coaches to go back-to-back and have lots of guys with back-to-back. It is not personal challenges we are taking on, it’s a bunch of guys who want to be the best team in history. We have worked in 2022 and 2021 and 2020 but we plan for 2023.”
Nigel Owens has revealed in his latest https://t.co/IZJFU1QD8p column what he told Rassie Erasmus when the SA DoR recently contacted him with an offer to work for the Springboks. #RWC2023https://t.co/6RJhWKrAsi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 11, 2023
Later in the segment, Erasmus wrote the words supporters, media and referees on the whiteboard and explained to the Springboks squad why. “You might ask why are you putting them under the dotted line? If we play like we can and we get the right squad together and we coach our arses off and the management/support staff support all of us here the supporters will be there.
“It is our job to make sure they are part of us. They give opinions and tear us apart and do all those other things, but they are there for us. We know that.
“Our opponents should be those six teams and the team we play in the World Cup. They should be our only opponents, the only people we coach against, fight against, not fight, we can go to war with, beat them, go lift the trophy and drink on the bus. That should be the only thing that should stop us. Not the referee, not the media, not our supporters, especially not the coaches, the management team.
“Don’t let something stupid, don’t let another meeting deflate you. We knew what we did in 2019. We know now in 2023 that we are already 70 per cent, I promise you 70 per cent better organised as a team.
“There are going to be alignment camps and you are going to go home at weekends and most of you should go to the World Cup, so if you can just suck it up and make a really great effort, we rate being a warrior. You have never been part of a team that has evolved so much, that has got the abilities going into this year.
“I’m going to finish with this, we said on the end-of-year tour for those who play golf, you put it on the first fairway, you take your driver and for 2023 you hit your ball in the middle of the fairway and the World Cup lies on the green.
“What does the middle of the fairway look like? You are fresh and the plan now is we can put every team under pressure, we are a little more open-minded and we know each other (better).”
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments