Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith has joked that Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus copied the ‘bomb squad’ bench idea from his team.
Smith’s former Springbok teammate Erasmus has pushed the boundaries and remodelled how teams look at their bench in rugby. This began with a split of six forwards and two backs on the bench in their 2019 World Cup triumph and evolved into a 7-1 split in the 2023 final.
The Glasgow boss took a page out of Erasmus’ book last weekend by picking a 7-1 split against Toulon which almost saw the Scots grab a win but they fell 30-29 to the French side.
Rassie stole the 7-1 split
When asked about the tactic the coach joked that it was Erasmus that copied him rather than the other way around.
“I’m disappointed that you are comparing me with Rassie Erasmus!” said Smith. “I think we’ve shown over the last two-and-a-half years that he’s copying us, isn’t he?”
Smith clarified his selection philosophy with the final 20 minutes always a key part of his thinking and this has clearly worked as the South African claimed the United Rugby Championship title with Glasgow.
“I said from the start [of his Warriors tenure] that my philosophy is to pick the players that are going to be on the field in the last 20 minutes first. That is the part of the game where nobody goes to the fridge to get another beer,” he said.
“At the same time, it allows us to rotate the squad with an eye on the numerous high-quality games that are still to come. But this is not the bomb squad being copied. I think the Rassie Erasmus bomb squad was copied from us!”
Glasgow now turns their attention back to league action where they face their fierce rivals Edinburgh this weekend.
READ MORE: Ian Foster pinpoints the ‘difference’ between the 2015 All Blacks and 2023 Springboks
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/rassie-erasmus-bomb-squad-was-copied-from-us-franco-smith-jokes
