Rassie labels All Blacks reserve a 'monster', praises Kiwi innovation

Rassie Erasmus has shared his expectations for the lineout battle in this weekend’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test series opener, highlighting the tactics and personnel on both sides that will make the contest especially competitive.

Erasmus’ Springboks famously pride themselves on their set-piece, but with the All Blacks fighting fire with fire by naming two locks over the height of 203 cm in the second row and Tupou Vaa’i on the blindside flank, New Zealand are positioning themselves to be as disruptive as possible in the lineout at Ellis Park.

When the size of the Kiwi pack was pointed out at the Springboks press conference on Thursday, Erasmus was quick to remind the reporter that the Boks also have plenty of size on their side, and that it would come down to how that size is utilised.

“Pieter-Steph (du Toit) is pretty tall, Eben (Etzebeth) is pretty tall, Ruan (Nortje) is pretty tall. So I think we’re just as tall as them. They’re a little bit younger, 23, and I think the other guy is 25,” Erasmus said.

“It’s a combination of the hooker and the calling system and how we contest and what we want to do where on the field. And the same with when they have the ball, I’m sure they’ll have a few trick plays like the (Tony) Woodcock play way back in 2011.

“They’ve got good players and obviously a great hooker starting, and obviously the reserve hoker playing off the bench (Asafo Aumua) is a monster; you can see that. He’s a physical guy.

“But they have tall guys, and we also have tall guys; it’s more about how in sync you can be on attacking lineout when you have the ball, and how you can possibly disrupt their call. Codie Taylor is such a good lineout thrower. I think it’s going to be a very closely contested area of the game.”

Erasmus was also complimentary over New Zealand’s recent tactical shift to deal with contestable kicks, an area they struggled with last year in particular.

“I think they’re wonderful under the high ball,” the Boks coach said. “They’ve got this new thing where the winger runs back, and he catches it. I think it’s a wonderful strategy; I think it’s very clever. Obviously, we will look around a few opportunities to counter that. It’s a good plan, very innovative.”

Meanwhile, on attack, the Kiwis are promising to raise the tempo in the game and look to exhaust the big South African pack.

“They say it all the time, so it is no secret,” Erasmus added. “They can’t go away from what they are saying now, because what they are saying on social media, what they are saying in press conferences, is they’re going to play fast and intense, and people must try to keep up with them.

“That shows in the stats; they have probably doubled the breakdowns, double the passes that they had in Razor’s era. And that’s the way they want to play. They want to run you off your feet and make sure they win their breakdown ball, whatever it takes.

“I think it’s such a close contest. I don’t think Dave can tell you who’s going to win on Saturday, and I certainly can’t tell you who’s going to win on Saturday.

“I see a lot of people are quoting stats of how many wins and how many losses… we won’t be stupid enough to think it’s that easy.”