Fans at home see Erasmus as a brave knight, charging into dragon fire to preserve the dignity of his peopleThe Springboks are in need of a new water carrier for Saturday’s match at Twickenham. Responsibilities include marshalling the defence, identifying weaknesses in the opposition’s line and relaying important information from the coach’s box. Oh, and hydrating the players on the field.The incumbent, Rassie Erasmus, who moonlights as the director of rugby, has been banned from all rugby activities for two months and suspended from all match‑day activities until September next year. His punishment, meted out by World Rugby for his 62-minute video in which he criticised in detail the refereeing performance of Nic Berry in the first Test of the...
Absence from shortlists amid the continuing show trial of Rassie Erasmus has left Springboks fans feeling disrespectedIt was the last straw for many South Africans. So far this year they have battled their way past Covid-19 and the British & Irish Lions, beaten New Zealand on the Gold Coast and, more recently, overturned Wales and Scotland. And how many of their beloved Springboks have been shortlisted for a men’s player or coaching World Rugby award? None, niemand or akukho nanye, depending on whether you prefer to receive your bad news in English, Afrikaans or Xhosa.On its own this would have been a relatively minor issue. France’s Antoine Dupont, England’s Maro Itoje and the Wallabies’ duo of Michael Hooper and Samu...
The 2-1 series defeat to South Africa was marred by a pandemic off the pitch and some very bland rugby on itAnother British & Irish Lions series, another story of nagging regret. Congratulations to a South Africa team that kept their nerve better when it mattered but this tour has not left everyone eagerly counting down the days until the scheduled trip to Australia in 2025.Regardless of the outcome in Saturday’s third Test, the past few weeks have raised several uncomfortable issues for the Lions and rugby as a whole. In some ways it has been a perfect storm: Covid-19, no travelling fans, social media anger, limited attacking rugby, mediocre provincial opposition and blatant Springbok gamesmanship have all combined to...
For their benefit, and for rugby union, it feels almost incumbent on South Africa to find a more expansive way to playOne of the more amusing moments of this British & Irish Lions tour came on the eve of the third Test, when a South American journalist asked the Springboks’ representatives up for questioning whether the weekend decider was effectively a warm-up match for the forthcoming Rugby Championship. Given South Africa begin that competition with back-to-back matches against Argentina, starting on Saturday, full marks for working the local angle, but in overcoming the Lions you sense the Springboks’ No 1 goal for the year has already been achieved.It raises an interesting point, though, because going back to the buildup to...
The Scot’s introduction sparked a turgid Test series into life and he kept pushing for victory until the very last minuteThe best script writers always give fly-halves the leading role. It would have seemed unfathomable not so long ago that Morné Steyn would kick a late penalty to win the series against the British & Irish Lions 12 years on from having done precisely the same thing, and equally Finn Russell seemed destined to play just a watching brief only a few weeks ago.All credit to the Springboks and Steyn for once more displaying icy veins when the pressure was at its greatest, but Russell’s performance in this nerve-shredding decider was equally as significant and for large spells it looked...