Rassie Erasmus admits Springboks were caught out by unexpected All Blacks tactic
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Surprised.
Rassie Erasmus has revealed that the Springboks were caught off guard by a clever All Blacks tactic during their 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park.
New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series after scoring five tries to South Africa’s one, bringing the Springboks’ 12-match winning run to an end.
Despite enjoying significant scrum dominance and periods of pressure, the Boks struggled to turn their opportunities into points, with handling errors and turnovers proving particularly costly.
Speaking after the game, Erasmus revealed that New Zealand’s approach in the tackle was different to what South Africa had prepared for.
“They had a very clever tactic – 100% legal – they were stripping in the tackle,” Erasmus said.
The Springbok boss admitted his side had anticipated a different defensive approach from the visitors.
“They didn’t tackle like we practised that we thought they would. They were normally either pushing down or top tackles, and in this game they had a lot of strips.”
One of the clearest examples came late in the first half when Malcolm Marx appeared set to score from a lineout maul, only for Jordie Barrett to strip the ball and deny the Springboks.
Erasmus refused to blame the conditions for South Africa’s mistakes and instead credited the pressure applied by the All Blacks.
“So a lot of [the handling errors] were because of the good work by New Zealand. The ball wasn’t slippery; we can’t use that as an excuse.”
The Springboks also failed to make the most of their dominance at scrum time early in the second half, repeatedly opting to scrum from penalties while trailing by three points.
New Zealand eventually survived that period of pressure before pulling clear during the closing stages.
Erasmus stressed that there was nothing illegal about the All Blacks’ approach, instead crediting them for finding different ways to disrupt South Africa.
“Be it stripping the ball, be it contesting the ball on the ground, be it harassing the nine within the laws. I’m not saying they’re doing it outside the laws. We couldn’t handle that.”
The admission adds another intriguing tactical element ahead of the second Test in Cape Town, with Erasmus and his coaching staff now tasked with finding a response.
South Africa must win the remaining three Tests if they are to claim the series outright, while victory in Cape Town next Saturday would bring them level at 1-1.
