By Gavin Rich.
Ireland delivered a tactical masterclass when they dismantled South Africa 38-3 at the Aviva Stadium five years ago, but Rassie Erasmus believes that while they have retained their astuteness, they may have grown something extra since the two teams last met.
Erasmus, the South African director of rugby, will be back in the coaching box, and not walking the touchline as a waterboy, as he returns to match day duties with the Boks after serving the suspension slapped on him by World Rugby this time last year for the video that caused so much controversy during the 2021 British and Irish Lions series: “Obviously it was in the protocols and laws back when I was a water carrier, so (now) I will be back with the coaches in the coaches box”.
Erasmus, delighted to be away from the situation where he has to wave the players and coaches goodbye from the team hotel as they head off for a match, is also back fronting media conferences. It is something he handles with aplomb, but while clearly ready for it and expecting it, he was reluctant to be drawn on a question that Bok coach Jacques Nienaber was asked at the team announcement press conference in Dublin the day before: What is the difference between Ireland under new coach Andy Farrell compared to under New Zealand Joe Schmidt, who was in charge in that Ireland rout of the Boks in 2017?
GOT TO KNOW SCHMIDT WELL
And it is easy to understand why both coaches would be loath to answer, for everyone works closely together in Ireland rugby, meaning the club and national coaches, otherwise Ireland wouldn’t be No 1 in the world when they have such a low player resource base. In their two years at Munster, Erasmus and Nienaber got to know Schmidt well and Erasmus has never hidden his admiration for the Kiwi.
The two teams never got to meet each other in the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, as they were slated to do. Japan’s extraordinary performance in the pool phases put paid to that, and they condemned the Irish to play New Zealand instead. The All Blacks, smarting from a few unexpected defeats to the Irish in November internationals, produced their performance of the tournament in knocking out of the tournament.
As Nienaber admitted on Tuesday, the Boks had done some homework on Ireland in expectation of a quarterfinal meeting in 2019, but the hard yards of the analysis had yet to be done. That was how the current head coach copped out of answering the question, but Erasmus was prepared to add a bit extra on Wednesday afternoon.
“I heard you ask Jacques that question and it is a difficult one to answer, “said Erasmus.
“Ireland were very good tactically under Joe Schmidt, and we saw that when the Boks played here last time. They out-thought us that day. The Irish under Andy Farrell are also very clever tactically, but Andy was a tough rugby league player, and he is a defence coach, so I suppose it is natural for them now to have maybe more of a physical edge to their game than they had five years ago.”
Erasmus is probably spot on in that assessment. The Irish team that won so comfortably against Allister Coetzee’s Boks in 2017 was part of an era that saw two wins over the All Blacks, one in an exhibition game in the USA and another in Dublin, but the Ireland team that beat New Zealand in New Zealand more recently did appear more physical.
“Look, that Ireland team of 2017 might also say that the Boks lacked physical edge,” added the man who scripted South Africa’s Rugby World Cup triumph in Japan less than two years after the humbling experience in Dublin that sounded the death-knell to the previous coach’s stint in charge.
A LOT HAS CHANGED
Indeed, a lot has changed for both teams since then, and much water has flowed under the bridge.
“We are different teams now, both of us. We got a proper hiding, 38-3, the last time we were here,” said Erasmus. “But the next three years, things got better, and we managed to win the World Cup. I guess five years since then, both teams have changed dramatically in terms of how they do things and how they play.
“Obviously, the way Ireland have played and the teams they have beaten to be where they are currently, they’re doing a lot of things right on and off the field. But we’re looking forward to it, we’re in for stiff competition. The Irish crowd are respectful and know how to enjoy both sides of the game, but we know that when Ireland play in Dublin they feel the support, so it is a very difficult place for a visiting team. It’s going to be a good one to watch.”
Erasmus and Nienaber were sitting in the Aviva Stadium crowd when the Boks were dismantled there in 2017, and it provided motivation for them to return home from their life in Munster to take charge of the fortunes of the South African team.
STILL SEARCHING FOR A WIN AT AVIVA
As it turns out, although Erasmus won in Dublin as a player, he has yet to experience victory at Aviva Stadium as a coach, even though he and Nienaber were in charge of Munster in important games at the home of Irish rugby a couple of times.
“I won there way back when I was playing, when it was known as Lansdowne Road, but I have never won there as a coach. We lost to Leinster at Aviva during my time as Munster coach and we also got well beaten there by Scarlets in the final (the 2017 Pro12 Grand Final which Scarlets won 46-22).”
Asked if he was advantaged by having spent time getting to know the Irish set-up and systems when with Munster, Erasmus said it works both ways.
“We do have insights, we know the Irish set-up very well, but then the Irish players and coaches know me very well,” said Erasmus.
“I know the question of Jason Jenkins (who plays for Leinster) comes up but you can look at it the other way around as well. He’s going back to Leinster, and he will obviously know a lot about the Boks.
“It’s something that people always ask but we’d never pick a guy for that reason, it would be stupid to bugger around a guy’s career. There’s a lot of plans that we made and analysis we did for them, but they will have done the same. It will be great to see on Saturday which of those two plans and tactics work. We’re fairly confident but we know they’re fairly confident as well. It will be a great match-up.”