Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus has flagged a new All Blacks tactic alongside concerns over the threat posed by their tight five ahead of Saturday’s Test between the sides in Johannesburg.
A day out from the first of four Test matches in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between frenemies South Africa and New Zealand, and things appear to have settled down with only palpable excitement and nervousness remaining in both camps.
This after the build-up to this first clash has been nothing short of extraordinary. In this week alone, both coaches lashed out in the media about the other’s tactics resulting in a verbal back and forth, there’s been injury concerns and subsequently injury setbacks on both sides, but there’s also been a show of mutual respect and shared recognition of each other’s strengths.
RASSIE WARY OF NEW ALL BLACKS STRATEGY
And after both sides had finally revealed their hands by naming their respective match-day squads and the two head coaches had time to dissect the opposition, Erasmus was quick to point out a specific tactical wrinkle the Springboks must prepare for on Saturday.
Addressing the media ahead of the Ellis Park showdown, Erasmus highlighted an unusual tactic involving their potent back three and how they negate the aerial contest.
“They’ve got this new thing where the winger runs back and he runs backwards and catches it,” he said.”It’s normally the fullback or the winger that runs forward and catches it.”
Erasmus revealed that while New Zealand’s reversal of that pattern has proven remarkably effective so far, his Boks have already begun working on ways to counter that shrewd ploy.
“I think it’s a wonderful strategy and very clever and innovative.” he admitted. “That will be a challenge for us, but obviously we will look around a few opportunities how to counter it,” he said.
TIGHT FIVE BATTLE WILL BE KEY
Asked about the second row battle between the Springbok and All Black lock pairings, Erasmus acknowledged their physical stature posed a genuine threat, but insisted his line-out jumpers have what it takes to win that specific set-piece contest on the day.
“They [Josh Lord and Fabian Holland] are a little bit younger, they’re 23 and 25. But it’s a combination of the hooker and the calling system and how we contest and what we want to do where on the field,” Erasmus explained.
“And then the same when they have the ball,” he added. “I’m sure they’ll have a few trick plays like the Woodcock play way back in 2011. They are doing really nice in-and-outs into the vacuum, which we expect.
“Obviously they maul a lot, they’ve got good players [locks] and a great hooker [Codie Taylor] starting and then obviously the reserve hooker [Asafo Aumua] playing off the bench is a monster. You can see that he’s a physical guy.”
“Pieter-Steph’s pretty tall, Eben’s pretty tall and Ruan’s pretty tall. They’ve got tall guys, but we’ve also got tall guys. It’s more about how in sync you can be on attacking line outs when you have the ball and how you can possibly disrupt their throws. But Codie Taylor is such an excellent lineout thrower. I think it’s going to be a closely contested area of the game.”
THE PAST DON’T MATTER
Dating back to August 2023, the Springboks have won five of the last six matches in this blue-ribbon fixture, with the All Blacks only winning last’e year’s Rugby Championship game at Eden Park in Auckland. When asked whether that set of results gives his team a slight edge, Erasmus was blunt about placing too much weight on previous outcomes.
“I see a lot of people are quoting stats,” he said. “It’s your last game that counts and our last game is not the one we played (and won) in Wellington (in 2025). It’s the game we’re playing on Saturday.”
