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Springboks: Rassie Erasmus apologises for ‘not well-mannered outburst’ and praises ‘gentleman’ Dave Rennie for coaching in ‘a very brutal way’ Rassie Erasmus has apologised for last weekend’s F-bomb media briefing and called Dave Rennie a “gentleman” following the Springboks exhilarating 29-24 win over the All Blacks in Saturday’s third Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. The aftermath of last Saturday’s series-levelling win by South Africa in Cape Town resulted in Erasmus throwing a wobbler, reacting with expletives when he learned that the New Zealand boss had accused the Springbok scrum of illegality. The furious bust-up carried over into the build-up to this weekend’s third Test in Soweto and it was only in the aftermath of his team’s five-point win at FNB Stadium, which gives them a 2-1 lead heading into the series finale in the United States of America, that Erasmus finally apologised and offered an olive branch to Rennie. Asked for his thoughts on a riveting Test match where his team recovered from falling 17-12 behind to a 56th-minute try to lead 29-17 before the concession of a consolation, clock in the red try, Erasmus said: “I thought it was epic. “All of us envy the way they can handle the ball…” “The whole series so far has been epic, and they can draw it in Baltimore. Obviously we are happy tonight, but I don’t want to swear again because I got into trouble last time, and I really apologise for that last week – it was not well-mannered and I apologise. “It was epic and it was intense and both teams lost some vital players. We lost Cheslin (Kolbe); they lost Ardie (Savea). It was a fierce battle in all departments and the scoreboard at the end showed how close the game was. We’re just happy we won, and now we’re on the same flight and we must try to replicate that in Baltimore.” Kolbe was sidelined early in the first half in Soweto with what was confirmed to be a broken jaw, and the injury will prevent him from travelling to the United States for the series finale where the Springboks will have Damian Willemse back fit at full-back. The match at FNB Stadium ended four tries each, meaning the Springboks still haven’t gotten the better of the All Blacks on the try count so far, as it finished one try to five at Ellis Park and then three tries to four at DHL Stadium. It left Erasmus singing the praises of the New Zealand attack and feeling grateful that his team was still able to pull a victory out of the bag. “All of us envy the way they [New Zealand] can handle the ball, and they are certainly brilliant at that,” he admitted. “None of us can say they don’t keep the ball alive, and they play to their strengths. Last weekend we lost Damian Willemse in the first-half, and now we lost Cheslin, and then we also got a yellow card for Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu), which also put us under the pump, and then you have to make some plans. “But at half-time, luckily, when we went in it was level (at 12-all), so then you get some hope, but we knew we were now playing against the wind. I don’t think we utilised the wind really well in the first half because there were a few (penalties) that Sacha could have slotted from far out and then one or two knock-ons and simple errors, like Jesse (Kriel) on the wing when he knocked the ball and one or two scraps balls that we didn’t get, but then over 80 minutes at least it evened out. “Without a doubt, I’m telling you now, we were certainly nervous. They were nervous, too. It’s a massive series, playing number one and two in the world, and the whole build-up to the thing, it has certainly lived up to that and I can tell you now we’re not sitting here thinking that we are flipping awesome; we are thinking there was also a lot of luck that went our way.” Focusing on a Greatest Rivalry scrum battle where the high point was the awarding of a penalty try to the Springboks just before half-time, Erasmus played down the level of dominance his team appeared to have. “We were caught for a free kick, we were caught for collapsing one… but I’m the last one probably to talk about that because I have moaned to the media in the past. I just think the frustration (last weekend) was not just because of what was raised. It was: was it on the right platform? We shouldn’t be out there, and I’ve been guilty in the past. “So I’ve learned my lesson; I’ve got banned and things like that, and then you sort of expect everybody else also to do it that way. But I mean, I don’t know how many people know Dave; he is a gentleman. “He definitely coaches in a very brutal way and it’s sometimes difficult to get around the smart things that he coaches, and I don’t think we were dominant in the scrums. There were times when it was pretty equal and things could have gone against us, but I’m just glad the narrative of games at the scrums- it’s really not a South African thing. “Hell, I can tell you we like high balls and we like the kicking game and we like mauling but we would never pick a scrum, so I hope that we parked that now. We parked that now because they scrum-flipped well tonight. “There were a few scrums where we were under the pump, where we were glad they got the ball out and didn’t keep on scrumming. So you know the changes he [Rennie] made really made a hell of a difference, and if we can park that and just concentrate on, he calls it footy, having some good footy next week.” Erasmus further complimented the fight shown by Rennie’s All Blacks, a team he only took charge of earlier this year, compared to a squad that the South African has been involved with since 2018, suggesting it augured well for a bright New Zealand future. “I know some people said in the media, or even some people said it out loud, that this is the series, only the part in South Africa [the three matches], but it’s a full (four-match) Test series. I know they lost this part in South Africa, but all three games, I know they smashed us in the first one, but I thought the score was a little bit skewed. “You know, we were a lot more in that game than most people think, and then last weekend, in the last play, they could have drawn it. So the one advantage that we do have, I mean, Dave has only coached it eight games or nine games, I’m not sure. “They had two losses now, but they came in with a 100 per cent win record and they are playing a style that is tough to defend. But I preach, I don’t see this as boasting, but we have been together since 2018 and I don’t know if we’ve ever, in the last two years, since the World Cup, selected a team of continuity. “Our plan was always to give a lot of guys a chance with our eye on the World Cup, but then when we get into this Greatest Rivalry series, start and build some momentum in continuity, so the guys we sit together with in a changing room (we know well), which Dave doesn’t have the luxury of yet because he’s building a team. Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. “I know what that feels like in 2018 when I got the team 18 months before the World Cup. Just at the right moment you must get some momentum, but I know these players inside out, they know me, and I was unbelievably emotional today [Saturday] because I wanted us to come to Soweto and take it to the people, and then I thought when we got here they don’t have the money to come into the stadium and then we had a chat about that. “So they know when not to take me seriously and when to take me seriously, and we’ve got the luxury of knowing each other for nine years through tough times. Not to say that we’re always going to win because of that, but we are maybe just a little bit more used to that, and Dave and his team will find each other in those tough times, but for us it’s not easy, but it’s easier to get through those tough times.”