‘We’ll be stupid if we don’t’: Rassie Erasmus on respecting All Blacks

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has heaped praise upon his All Blacks counterpart Scott Robertson ahead of this weekend’s clash at Ellis Park. The pair played Test rugby against each other in their playing days and will now do the same as coaches.

What Erasmus has achieved as a coach with the Springboks is nothing short of legendary. South Africa had won the last two Rugby World Cups, including last year’s triumph with ‘Rassie’ as the Director of Rugby, and they’re now the favourites to win The Rugby Championship.

But an All Blacks outfit with a new-look coaching staff will have a thing or two to say about the Springboks’ favouritism when the two traditional rugby rivals go head-to-head this weekend for the first time since last year’s Rugby World Cup Final.

New Zealand have started their new era under head coach Scott Robertson with four wins from five starts, with a shock 38-30 loss to Argentina in Wellington a blip on their record. But, it must be said their wins over England in July weren’t all that convincing.

‘Razor’ Robertson and the All Blacks will be eager to step up to another level this weekend against the world champions. The Springboks are aware of the challenge that awaits, with Erasmus insisting their rivals have “too much class” around the park.

“We’ll be stupid if we don’t respect them. We’ll be bad coaches, we’ll be stupid players, we’ll be an arrogant nation, we’ll be put back in our place,” Erasmus told reporters at the team’s hotel in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“It’s a team that beat England at home. It’s a team that lost to Argentina – we’ve lost to Argentina… we beat them by only one point in the World Cup.

“I just think people must understand, although Razor is a fantastic coach and even might be the best coach in the world, and New Zealand is a rugby-mad country – if you lose Richie Mo’unga all of a sudden the core of the Crusaders players isn’t there.

“And you’ve got a few injuries and you’re trying this guy at 10 and you’ve got a captain out for the first two Test matches and you strike Argentina on the wrong day… that doesn’t make Razor a bad coach.

“We saw what happened the next week (in Auckland) and now this weekend they’re here.

“He would know this stadium really well… so no, they’ve got too much class all around, too good a coaching system and too good a structure in New Zealand not to get it right somewhere.”

The All Blacks have won three of their last four Tests against the Springboks at Ellis Park but the hosts will be full of confidence after their recent successes. South Africa handed New Zealand a record loss at Twickenham before last year’s World Cup in France.

These two international rugby heavyweights traded blows again with the sport’s ultimate prize up for grabs. Captain Sam Cane was sent off during the first-half, and while the Kiwis fought valiantly in Saint-Denis, they couldn’t prevent the Boks from retaining the Webb Ellis Cup.

This is a rivalry almost unlike any other. These two teams have massive respect for one another off the park but when they run out onto the field at Ellis Park this Saturday, the Springboks and All Blacks will brace themselves for war.

“We’ve played the last 10 times against them; one draw, four losses and five wins for us, the last 10 times and it’s been two points, four points, one point,” Erasmus said. “It’s going to be really, really tight.”