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SARU boss says 'We have to keep perspective' ahead of All Blacks test
By Online Editors
South African Rugby Union president Mark Alexander has come out in support of new coach Rassie Erasmus ahead of the Springboks encounter with the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Alexander has reminded fans of the All Blacks current dominance, dampening expectations for this Springbok side.
"The Springboks have never won at Westpac Stadium. It would require a history-making effort to get the win," he told Keo.co.za.
"I know the belief within the squad is such that Saturday could be that glory evening but the making of Rassie Erasmus as the Springbok coach won't be in a victory or defeat on Saturday evening.
He firmly believes in the plan Erasmus has for building the Springboks into a World Cup contender, understanding there will be 'hiccups' along the way.
"Rassie was appointed because of the detail in his plan to build a squad that could be realistic challengers at the World Cup.
"Rassie's legacy as a coach will be balanced against what the Springboks can produce at the 2019 World Cup and we trust everything in his plan over the next year to get the Springboks into a position of strength and World Cup tournament contenders."
"We knew there would be hiccups along the way. The World Cup remains the pinnacle in this plan," he said.
The Springboks have lost two away matches in a row to Argentina in Mendoza and Australia in Brisbane, heaping pressure on Erasmus who took over the Springboks from embattled coach Allister Coetzee in February.
After a promising start over England in June, Erasmus shocked the media by stating that he could be out of a job if the Springboks lost to the All Blacks.
"If we do really bad here [against the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday], then I will probably not be in the seat for the next couple of matches and somebody else will probably be there," he said.
That sentiment hasn't been reflected by president Alexander, who has called for some perspective.
"There has to be perspective.
"We won a series against a very good England squad. We scored six tries against the Pumas in South Africa and the team created enough opportunities to beat the Wallabies in Brisbane. Mendoza was a disappointment for everyone but the performance in Brisbane was vastly improved."
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Latest Comments
I didn't mean to sound down on Dmac. Just looking hard at the bench sub's role of providing impact. I don't think he can do that at 15, and the bench is not really about injury cover anymore (you need to maximise it's use more than that).
He's my first choice of any New Zealander for the 10 jersey with the All Blacks.
Go to commentsAgreed. And I don't have much more to say on it, but I had been having one thought that sprang to mind at the tail of this discussion, and that is that it's not all about Razor.
It's not about any coach being "right". I think a lot of selections can become defense and while it doesn't really apply here I really enjoyed that Andy Farrell just gave into the public demands and changed out his team for the change that had been asked for. Like why not? This is the countries team, keep them engaged. The whole reason i've only just finished watching the game was because I wasn't interested in watching any of the selected players against a team like Italy (still actually enjoyed the first half with the contest Italy made of it).
Faz leap frogs a younger half back into start. He hands the golden child the game over July's golden child. He gives an old winger a go, a new flanker and hooker. None of them really did any good, certainly not enough to suggest they should have been promoted above others, but who cares? You won, and you gave the country what they wanted, that's all that matters after all. It's for the country, not the one in charge who thinks they have to have their own pied piper tune playing.
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