Can-do spirit and a receptive host country look to have opened new markets for what has been a virtually landlocked sportOn stage at the World Rugby awards ceremony on Sunday evening the extraordinary Siya Kolisi was asked what kind of public reaction he and his team were expecting on their return to South Africa. “I’m not sure,” replied the Springbok captain, a note of uncertainty in his voice. He sounded like a bemused lottery winner still attempting to compute how much his life had just changed.The heartfelt roar from the entire South Africa squad when Rassie Erasmus was announced as the world coach of the year was equally endearing. As Erasmus admitted, the team did not arrive in Japan necessarily...
Led by a kid from the townships, South Africa’s triumphant side simply had more to play for than EnglandIf there has been a theme of the World Cup, a lesson for us all to take from these long seven weeks, it is this: the game sometimes runs on strange and powerful currents. It is not necessarily the sharpest, smartest, fittest, fastest or strongest team that wins, but the one who wants it most. Listening to South Africa’s captain, Siya Kolisi, and coach, Rassie Erasmus, talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it, you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it, England had lost...
Eddie Jones had the World Cup pedigree but the Springboks coach was more cunning in rotating his front-row resourcesSouth Africa had the Bomb Squad; England blew up. It was a tactical triumph for the Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus who, two years ago, was on his way from Munster to run the disintegrating professional game in South Africa only to find when he arrived home that the national side demanded his immediate attention. But the Springboks’ triumph was also based on his belief that sport is equally about the physical and the mental.South Africa owed their World Cup success not only to the aggression that burned in all their players, even those rather smaller than the forwards who seem as wide...
Eddie Jones’s team have the ability to break down South Africa’s traditional power game and win a tight contestI think England will beat South Africa in the World Cup final. I feel it not because of hard statistics, nor because emotions are getting the better of me. Here’s my reasoning.In attack, South Africa have moved back to their more traditional power game and it has given them certainty on the field. The Springboks under their excellent coach, Rassie Erasmus, are all on the same page. Related: England’s Rugby World Cup finals: the inside story on 1991, 2003 and 2007 Related: The Breakdown | Defence will be Springboks’ strength against England in World Cup final Continue reading...
Since Rassie Erasmus took over as coach, the Springboks have adopted an uncompromising style of play based on kicking and tackling that has paid dividends during the World CupSouth Africa may not indulge in much Rassie‑dazzle, but they have recovered the winning formula after two years in which they suffered a number of humiliating defeats. It is based on an uncomplicated gameplan in which they look at their best when the opposition have the ball and get knocked back by a gang of bruising forwards.When Rassie Erasmus took over as head coach at the beginning of last year, he pledged to make South Africa look like South Africa again, physical and strong in the set pieces, and he has been...