Video - 'No-one beats New Zealand here' - Rassie reacts to shock victory over New Zealand
Rassie Erasmus has labelled South Africa’s victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship as the greatest moment of his coaching career.
The Springboks boss had conceded prior to Saturday’s encounter in Wellington that his job was on the line following defeats to Argentina and Australia.
But despite having not beaten the All Blacks since 2014, South Africa overturned the odds at Westpac Stadium, running out 36-34 winners.
And with some of the pressure on his post relieved, Erasmus did not understate the importance of the victory.
“Definitely,” Erasmus said when asked if this was his best moment during his time as a coach.
“Not just because we beat New Zealand but we were very close to losing three in a row and that puts pressure on a team and takes belief away.
“And we could have lost this game at the last minute, it could have gone totally against us. We were a bit lucky but very relieved.
“When we started planning we thought if there’s one way to come back it’s to beat New Zealand in New Zealand. That was a month ago.
“We lost those two games in a row and you lose some belief but we always targeted this game to say ‘we can turn things and be real contenders at the World Cup’.
“Again, we could have lost in the last seconds but this gives us a lot of belief. No-one beats New Zealand here, so we’re very privileged to be one of those teams.”
Gaat effort by the boys in Wellington. @MTNza @ASICS_ZA#LoveRugby #NZLvRSA pic.twitter.com/CxfuSz1uk7
— Springboks (@Springboks) September 15, 2018
South Africa have slipped down the world rankings in recent years, and despite the victory in Wellington, Erasmus insists there is still plenty of work to be done ahead of the 2019 World Cup.
“We’re number six or seven in the world. We’ve got to catch up with Australia and England, there are so many teams ahead of us there’s no way we can get ahead of ourselves,” he added.
“This is one win with a lot of luck against the world’s best team. We’ll enjoy it but if we ranked two or three we could say we were close to getting there, but we’re far off.
“We’re definitely not where we want to be, there’s a lot of hard work to do.”
Comments on RugbyPass
guys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
1 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
227 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
3 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
86 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
227 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
227 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
19 Go to comments