Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read makes some big Rassie Erasmus claims
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The King.
All Blacks legend Kieran Read has made some big claims about Rassie Erasmus as the war of words surrounding the Springboks and New Zealand continues.
Erasmus and All Blacks coach Dave Rennie have traded verbal blows over the past few weeks, particularly around the scrum following South Africa’s 33-26 victory in Cape Town.
Rennie questioned the Springboks’ scrummaging after the second Test, claiming they were able to “walk around” and attack New Zealand’s tightheads.
Erasmus responded strongly to those comments before later accusing the All Blacks of attempting to influence officials through the media ahead of the third Test.
Read, however, believes both coaches are playing the same game – and says Erasmus is better at it than anyone.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: ANZ, the former All Blacks captain said:
“I don’t mind it because all he’s trying to do is influence slightly what’s going to come in the next two Tests around refereeing decisions.
“They’re going to watch Dave Rennie complain about their angles, so both of them are planting little seeds for the refereeing teams to maybe look at when they’re reviewing the footage.
“It’s part of it, and with Rassie you’ve got to expect it. Coaches have been doing this for a long time, but Rassie is the absolute king of it.”
Read also had plenty to say about Erasmus’ approach during the build-up to the Cape Town Test.
The Springboks made several late changes to their team before the Cape Town Test, including a complete reshuffle of the starting front row as Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit were promoted from the bench.
“He was up and down this week, wasn’t he? Making changes the day of the game, just as he’s handing in the team sheet half an hour before kick-off,” Read said.
“It’s his reasoning, and he’s good at telling his story and good at the narrative around it.
“The thing around that, though, is that if this was a World Cup game or maybe a Nations Championship, you can’t do that; you’ve got to name your team, and that’s what it’s got to be. You can’t swap out unless there are injuries.”
Read also offered an interesting insight into Erasmus’ frustrations over decisions going against the Springboks.
The 127-cap former New Zealand captain believes being the best team in the world can create a perception that marginal calls are going against you, having experienced something similar during the All Blacks’ period of dominance.
“When you’re at the top, and the All Blacks were like this for a long time, the perception is when you’re the best in the world is you’ll get none of the 50/50s go your way,” Read said.
“That’s where he’s probably coming from, right? Luckily right now, we’ve got two best teams in the world, so the refs got to do the 50/50 one way or the other.
“Generally, you feel sometimes it goes against you because subconsciously in the back of the ref’s mind, he’s like, ‘we can’t have the All Blacks be this dominant, or the Springboks be this dominant, for so long’. I think that’s your perception when you’re at that level.”
Read ultimately believes the All Blacks should take Erasmus’ public comments with a degree of caution ahead of Saturday’s third Test at FNB Stadium.
“A grain of salt is what you’ve got to look at from an All Blacks point of view with what he’s talking about, but he’s passionate.”
The Springboks and All Blacks head into the third Test level at 1-1 following South Africa’s victory in Cape Town, with the final match of the four-Test series taking place in Baltimore next weekend.
