Springboks

Rassie: It’s going to be a very tough test

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  • Post published:October 17, 2023

SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus is bracing for a “tough” battle against England when the two sides meet in the Rugby World Cup semi-final at the Stade de France on Saturday.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup finalists will meet in the second semi-final at the Stade de France on Saturday, with Argentina and New Zealand meeting in the first semi-final on Friday night. Erasmus stated that performing the fundamentals of the game correctly would be especially important at this stage of the competition.

With the Springboks’ 2019 RWC winning strength and conditioning coach Aled Walters now in the England camp, Erasmus stated that they would be tested not only physically, but also mentally.

“We know how fit Aled will have them, and some of our players play in the England Premiership, but over and above that Steve Borthwick (England head coach) is a good coach,” said Erasmus.

“We’ll train and prepare as hard as we can this week because it’s going to be a very tough test against a team that hasn’t lost a game. So, we know what we are in for.”

Erasmus added: “If you look at England and South Africa statistically, they are very close in terms of the number of tries scored and conceded, and in terms of defence.

“To be honest, I was quite surprised so many tries were scored in the quarter-finals, but as we get closer to the final, the fundamental areas of the game will become more important.”

Erasmus was pleased with how the Springboks balanced their players’ training and playing loads, and he predicted a similarly rested England squad.

“We’ve spread the load with player minutes. We know this is definitely going to be a close match, but we are in a fortunate situation in that all 33 players are not showing injuries and should be available for selection.”

Erasmus described the quarter-final, which the Boks won 29-28, as a true rugby Test.

“If the French had won the game, the team and coaches would have been as happy as we are,” said Erasmus.

“And they would have deserved it, just as we did. Tactically and physically, we pushed each other until the end. And I must commend the French coach (Fabien Galthie) for the respect he had for us after the game. He was humble and sincere.”