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Watch: The miraculous win that saved the Erasmus regime and changed the trajectory of the Springboks

By Online Editors
Source (RugbyPass)

Heading into the All Blacks first clash against the Springboks in 2018, new coach Rassie Erasmus had lost two Rugby Championship games in a row against Argentina and Australia.

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With the All Blacks at the top of the rugby world, the expectation was that they would beat South Africa handsomely after previous wins at home of 57-0 in 2017 and 41-13 in 2016. They had not lost at home since 2009 during the stretch of their two World Cup-winning campaigns.

Before the match Rassie Erasmus claimed he was under pressure to retain his job even after committing to SARU on a long term contract.

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“Yes‚ I do think so‚” he responded when asked about his prospects diminishing after a defeat to the New Zealanders.

“Maybe I will not be fired immediately but pressure will definitely mount‚” Erasmus said.

“I will probably not be in the seat in the next couple of matches and somebody else will be here.

“For me to survive is very important and if we can beat the All Blacks here‚ everyone will think that there is growth and we have a realistic chance of winning the World Cup next year.

“But‚ if we do badly‚ I can tell you it will be a different story.”

The Springboks started slow out of the blocks with the All Blacks scoring two early tries to Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith, falling to a 12-0 deficit.

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Staring down the gun barrel, the Springboks managed to score two quick tries with Willie Le Roux setting up Aphiwe Dyantyi before grabbing one himself when an ill-advised quick lineout throw went astray.

The Springboks were able to build a 24-17 halftime lead which quickly exploded to 31-17 when debutant Cheslin Kolbe pinched an intercept just minutes into the second half.

The All Blacks kept punching back with tries despite an off-night from Beauden Barrett where 8 points were left on the field through missed kicks.

Down to the last possession of the game, the Springboks clung on to a 2-point lead up 36-34 as the All Blacks pressed their goal line.

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The moment would become a massive talking point and criticism of Steve Hansen’s side following the match with the All Blacks’ leadership thrown into question.

The All Blacks spread the ball wide in search of a try when a rushing Dyantyi pressured Damian McKenzie, stripping the ball one-on-one and forcing a knock-on.

With unmarked men outside him, the All Blacks would have surely scored but the knock-on ended the game with the clock already well-passed 80-minutes.

The Springboks players immediately became overwhelmed with emotion as they just pulled off what many thought was impossible.

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All Black coach Steve Hansen said his side’s dressing room was in a sombre mood following the defeat with the pain of the loss setting in.

“Any time you lose, of course it hurts,” Hansen said after the match.

“The dressing room’s very somber, very quiet.

“It doesn’t happen very often – but it’s important we learn something from it, otherwise it’s a waste of time.”

One of the Springbok heroes from the win, Willie Le Roux, said the embattled side had been playing for the support of the people back home in order to restore national pride in the Springboks.

“We said the whole week, us 23 guys playing, management, all the guys travelling with, training against us, it’s about putting the pride back in the jersey,” he said.

“It’s about making the people back home proud.”

Erasmus said they had been targetting this game to prove their World Cup credentials as ‘nobody beats them there’.

“We could have lost this game in the last minute, so we were a bit lucky,” said Erasmus.

“But we are very relieved and very proud to beat New Zealand in New Zealand.

“Our big thing was, and all respect to New Zealand,  when we started the planning we said one way of coming back [from a couple of poor seasons] was beating New Zealand in New Zealand and that was months ago.

“When we lost those two games in a row, you do lose some belief, but we always targeted this game to turn things around and be real contenders at the World Cup.”

 

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A
Adrian 39 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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