Rugby has never had a coach like Rassie Erasmus, who has developed two destructive Springbok packs and is prepared to select both of them in a match-day 23, writes MARK KEOHANE.
Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane argues that Erasmus has assembled the most formidable bench in rugby’s professional era for the Boks’ Test against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Despite 11 changes to the starting XV that beat Argentina to win the Rugby Championship in September, Erasmus’ line-up still boasts 12 World Cup winners.
Keohane highlights Erasmus’ selection of a 7-1 bench, with two-time world champions Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Malcolm Marx among the replacements.
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He praises the back-to-back World Cup-winning coach as a trailblazer whose strategy showcases South Africa’s unmatched depth and consistency, as well as reinforcing their status as the top team globally.
“The rugby world would have been awed at the bench names that rolled from Erasmus’ tongue when on Friday afternoon he finally made public his match 23 to play Scotland on Sunday,” Keohane writes.
“No international team has ever had the luxury of naming a seven-forward-and-one-back substitutes bench with the quality of these names: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit and 22 Jasper Wiese.
“The sport has never experienced a coach who has developed two packs of near equal strength and is prepared to select 15 of the 16 in a match 23.
“Erasmus is that coach, an innovator for the sport, a tormentor to the opposition and the best coach in the world.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
