Rassie pumps brakes on rugby's attacking trend with World Cup prediction

Rassie Erasmus isn’t so invested in the recent trend of attack-dominated rugby, with the Springboks coach predicting next year’s Rugby World Cup is still likely to feature the same themes that have traditionally dominated its knockout stages.

Erasmus has famously led South Africa to back-to-back World Cup wins since his 2018 appointment as head coach, and will be chasing the first-ever three-peat at next year’s tournament in Australia.

Current projections suggest a high-scoring tournament is coming fans’ way, with the recent block of July internationals featuring a jump in the number of tries scored and a slight drop in the influence of set-piece.

Erasmus, however, is of the opinion that playing into those trends will only get you so far.

“I think there’s a big drive from a lot of people to say that attack is the beautiful part of the game. We like to think defence is, we think scrums are, the kicking game is, we think side steps are, we think passing is. We like to think all parts of the game (are beautiful); that’s what makes the game so special,” Erasmus told reporters in Argentina.

“I think World Rugby, they’re driving and supporting the attacking side of the game a hell of a lot, and I guess if that’s their main goal, they’re succeeding, because there’s lots of big scores. Sometimes for us a spectacle is just a really tense Test match where it’s (won by) one or two points. So I guess it depends which side you look at it from.

“But how it’s going to be next year, going into the World Cup pool games, the nerves are not so much; we’ve never been in a round of 16, we don’t know how that works. I’ve always found that if you come through the pool stages to the round of 16, to the quarter-final, to the semi-final, and the final, then it becomes more of a defensive thing because the pressure and the stakes are really high.

“I guess during the pool games, attack will be really important, but then for the teams that go further, I think defence will be pretty important.”

Although he may not be emphasising attack to the same degree as some opponents, Erasmus and his brains trust are still leading the way in many respects on the attacking side of the ball. The Springboks emerged from the opening Nations Championship block with the most points (130) and tries (20) through three wins.

But before he can get to the World Cup, Erasmus must first get through a Los Pumas outfit eager for a better result after just two wins from their last five Tests.

When identifying what he hoped to get out of the contest, Erasmus said: “The only thing I can wish for is that we really grow our game and get better in each department.

“We want to be on the winning side of the scoreboard, but I don’t think the margin of winning, if we do win, is the important thing. Because a lot of these guys are coming back from injury, and some are not really settled in the team, like Cameron (Hanekom) and Elrigh (Louw) and those kind of guys with low caps.

“So I guess Saturday won’t be perfect, but if we get better and we’re growing our game and building our game plan and getting more in sync, hopefully then the score will go our way.”

The match also takes place after a contentious Test between Argentina and England, which ended with allegations of poor sportsmanship. Erasmus has been involved in more than a dozen Tests between the Boks and Pumas, each of them upholding rugby’s values in his eyes, and said he expected this weekend’s showdown to be no different.

“We have never experienced Argentina as a team that goes outside the laws of the game. I think it’s a one-off, what happened last week. We’ve never experienced them to be a team that’s negative or too feisty. Obviously, they’re very hard men and physical guys, but we’ve never found them to be unsportsmanlike in games.”