Watch: The miraculous win that saved the Erasmus regime and changed the trajectory of the Springboks
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
Every nrl team – even the one on the bottom of the table – has a drop goal plan. Why not the All Blacks? #NZLvsRSA
— Ali Ikram (@AliIkram) September 15, 2018
Wow!! Congrats to the Boks. The ABs really need to learn you can win by dropping goals it’s not an insult if you use that option #NZLvsRsa
— Sam[uel] Smith (@sgowsmith1988) September 15, 2018
The knock on by the All Blacks right there…did someone turn off the skills switch? #NZLvsRSA
— AC (@TheStroBro) September 15, 2018
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.
I hope every single South African who joked, criticised and mocked the @Springboks this week eat humble pie and apologise. What an effort. More than 226 tackles. Come on.
— ?y?? ????? (@CowansView) September 15, 2018
I loved Peter-Steph du Toit’s tears. That’s #beingaman #NZLvsRSA #bokke
— Penza (@pedvr) September 15, 2018
Every single statistic points to a massacre. All Blacks had 75% possession, 79% territory. Boks had to make 226 tackles today. All Blacks made 46.
But it wasnt. It was a famous win.
Well done @Springboks #NZvSA— Brenden Nel (@BrendenNel) September 15, 2018
One of the greatest & most exciting victories I have ever witnessed by the @Springboks felt like a World Cup final, they showed guts, character and talent to bring it home! Siya Kolisi – take a bow, one hell of a leader! Rassie ? you did it! #NZLvsRSA #RugbyChampionship #Bokke
— Mandi Strimling (@MandiStrimling) September 15, 2018
Hey Springboks, that's how won World Cups, that's how Springboks play. Proud of you boys!
— Dan Retief (@Retief_Dan) September 15, 2018
Just catching up with #NZLvRSA. What a Test match! Some insanely good rugby on both sides. Immense effort from the Springboks. Been a long time coming.
— Andy Burke (@AndyBurke_) September 15, 2018
What the @Springboks did in Wellington is something that should be celebrated as 1 of the most important victories in recent history. Hats off fellaz!!
— Sensei_Juice (@MogulJuice) September 15, 2018
“We just have to respect them a little more…”Ian Foster AB assistant coach. Shouldn’t you respect all your opponents…even if you the ALL BLACKS ?#NZLvsRsa
— Eduard Coetzee (@coetzee_eduard) September 15, 2018
Love the emotion of the South African players after the game. What a win. Defence at the end unreal. Gives all the rest some hope against the ABs. Brilliant match ????#NZLvsRsa
— Shane Murphy (@smurphser) September 15, 2018
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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
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 commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
6 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
6 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks 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 commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
6 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf 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 commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
2 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
2 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to comments