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Rassie's an innovator, a genius – Jerry Flannery
It was 2016 at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick when I first met Rassie Erasmus. He was very, very straight with me. I was probably a little bit worried about the dynamic between himself and Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley because Axel was my captain when I played but he said straight away, ‘Listen Jerry, if I’m not the right guy I’ll go. If you are not the right guy, you will go’.
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Axel was a big fan of his right from the start and Rassie was really good, brilliant for us. Brilliant for Munster. He got Munster rugby back on track.
Rassie is a forward thinker. He is not looking at doing different things, just doing things differently if that makes sense. There are only so many ways one can do things in rugby and Rassie would think, ‘Okay, how can these things better?’
Everyone goes out and does all their conditioning work, does all their skill work, does all their tactics, but communication is a big part of the game.
How you effectively communicate messages to your players is crucial and Rassie would always be looking at things like that. He is an innovator, a genius.
He left Munster in 2017 with Jacques Nienaber for the Springboks and Felix Jones then went in 2019. Munster was the foundation for Felix and myself from a playing point of view and then we were so lucky they gave us a shot to start off coaching. The fact that Rassie and Jacques came in, we got to see what world-class coaching looks like which was a great start for us both.
Since Felix left Munster I’m very proud of what he has achieved. Rassie and Jacques knew what they were getting when they got him on board, that they got a guy who has got an incredible work ethic, a great eye for detail, and a really good communicator.
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Watching the Springboks play, you see a lot of the work that Felix has done around their catch-pass skills, the intricacies of their game without ever taking away from what it is that makes them the world champions, which is their incredible physicality.
He has won a World Cup – he is the only Irishman to have ever done so. He’s also won a Lions Test series and potentially has another chance to win another World Cup.
For Ireland, Johnny Sexton is a guy who is incredibly competitive. He has achieved so much in the game but you can see he is still so hungry to win and that’s it, he is just a competitor and when he is playing, there is always a real personal feel to the Ireland team.
When I say personal, he never wants anyone on the team to take a backward step and when he is on the field Ireland are much better.
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This weekend’s other Pool B game is Scotland versus Tonga in Nice and the Scots have to bounce back, they have to put themselves within touching distance of getting out of the group by putting in a strong performance.
I thought Tonga were impressive at times against Ireland, physical. They tested Ireland’s set-piece and they never gave up. I don’t mean that in a condescending manner but you are playing the No1-ranked team in the world and right until the 80th minute I felt they were putting their bodies on the line.
Scotland are now in a position where they have to pull out a big result and get a big performance. Leading into the World Cup they played such great rugby that I think they are probably not over-enamoured how they have gone, so this is going to be a big game for them. Scotland to win.
Switching to England, Marcus Smith has been named at full-back against Chile on Saturday and he is one of the best rugby players I have ever come across. He is a brilliant, brilliant player and is a great guy. I feel very lucky to work with Marcus week in, week out when he is here at Harlequins.
Steve Borthwick has a clear game plan and he is very good at coaching it and it’s about trying to figure out how you can accommodate Marcus into that because what he gives you is something that very, very few players can replicate. He is a game-changer for England.
I feel England showed great character going out against Argentina, particularly when they lost Tom Curry to the red card, and they stuck to their plan, worked like dogs for each other and ground out a really good win.
Sometimes you need something like that as a catalyst for change, to change people’s mindset, to change momentum and England, off the back of that win and also beating Japan, are now generating momentum and are in a pretty good place.
They have obviously got an easier draw to get through to the knockout stages but they showed enough in that game against Argentina to say that they deserve to go through.
The weekend’s other big game is Wales versus Australia in Lyon on Sunday night. I really enjoyed last weekend’s Fiji-Australia game; there were a lot of errors but Fiji were good value for the win. Australia have got so many talented players but I can’t quite put my finger on what their identity is.
Wales are a team that work very, very hard for each other and they play a game plan that suits them, like what Warren Gatland has done for many years and they have got guys who work hard in that. If I was to pick a team to win, Wales would be the team but I’m sure Eddie Jones was unhappy after the Fijian game and he will be making a plan for the Welsh.
- This Rugby World Cup guest column is brought to you in association with the renewed partnership between Harlequins and official trading partner Saxo, a global leader in online investing, for the 2023/2024 Gallagher Premiership season;
- Aside from ex-Ireland hooker-turned-coach Jerry Flannery, England lock Joe Launchbury and Wales legend and Harlequins coach Adam Jones will also be writing columns over the course of the tournament.
Comments on RugbyPass
SACK HIM !
1 Go to commentsSafas are so triggered by Ireland. 3 consecutive losses, incl RWC. 8 losses out of last 12 Tests. Always excuses, of course, with Bok fans. Now Rassie with his “88%” nonsense, the Claytons Excuse is an embarrassment to Bok teams of the past when every test mattered. Their fickle mojo will be on edge for the Ireland tour. Have the referees been appointed yet ? They will need security. Have WR laid out strict guidelines for TMO’s and replays on the stadium screens ? Will the constant stoppages from Bok forwards for cramps and bootlaces be tolerated ? We’re not talking a dominant Springbok team here, they won the LOTTO Cup and they know it whether they admit it or not. The Disney doco has their fans positively fermenting internally, its going to be a nasty hangover if they get beaten on home soil. What will the excuses be then……
75 Go to commentsGreat role model.
2 Go to commentsOne significant tell, not a single Waratahs player stopped to whinge to the ref about Finau’s tackle. They got on with playing the game. Great tackle.
8 Go to commentsWouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
75 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
75 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
75 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
75 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
2 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
75 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
75 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
75 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
75 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
75 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
75 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to comments