Latest news with #Erasmus
IOL News
2 minutes ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Wallabies versus Lions finale in Sydney will provide Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus with priceless information
All eyes on Sydney: Rassie Erasmus will be watching closely as the Lions chase a historic 3-0 clean sweep over a Wallabies side desperate to prove they can last the distance. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix COMMENT The big question ahead of Saturday's final Test match between the British and Irish Lions and Australia in Sydney is: who wants it more? Few will be more glued to their screens than Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, as the teams contest a dead rubber match. The Lions are 2-0 up in the series and have said they would love to make it three-zip — but do they want it that much? And will the Aussies be able to replicate their magnificent showing last week, when they came within 30 seconds of levelling the series? The Wallabies delivered their best performance in more than four years to almost upset a Lions side that had been in a different class in the first Test. Nobody saw an Australian revival coming, but it came to pass — and it is a pity, from a neutral point of view, that the Australians could not close the game out to guarantee a decider on Saturday. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading What was clear from last week's cliffhanger at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — that wonderful cathedral of Aussie sport — is that the Wallabies did not have the legs to close out the game. They were 23-5 up at one point, but you could see the energy draining from their bodies as the superior Lions bench outmuscled their gold-shirted counterparts. That is what Erasmus will have noted as the two-match Rugby Championship series against the Wallabies looms into view. The Boks host the Australians on 16 August in Johannesburg and a week later in Cape Town, and Erasmus will be planning an all-out Bomb Squad assault on the second half of those matches. On the evidence of the two matches thus far in the Lions series, the Wallabies have improved enough to be strong contenders in games — but do not yet have the firepower to finish them off. The Boks, of course, have made finishing games an art, and in anticipation, the Bomb Squad will be oiling their explosive devices. Or will an Australian team, rapidly gelling under wily coach Joe Schmidt, show on Saturday that they have found a new gear to compete with the best until the last minute? I doubt it. Saturday's game is intriguing because nobody knows who wants a dead rubber game the most. If you look at history, in 2009 the Boks and the Lions fought out one of the most ferocious games in history in the second Test at Loftus Versfeld, with a Morné Steyn penalty deciding the most tense of affairs to give the Boks an unassailable 2-0 lead. A week later, the (hungover) Boks were smashed at Ellis Park by the Lions. The same happened in 1997, when the boot was on the other foot. The Lions won the first two Tests, and the Boks responded with a 19-point victory in the dead rubber third Test in Johannesburg. To take it beyond the Lions series: in 1996, the All Blacks won the first two matches of a series against the Boks, but the South Africans rallied for the (dead rubber) third Test and won comfortably by 10 points. Again, we ask the question: do the Lions have enough in the tank to put away the desperate Wallabies and earn a historic 3-0 series win? No Lions team in the professional era has whitewashed their opponents. The last time it happened was in 1974, when the Lions won 3-0 in South Africa. Or will the Aussies rally and show Erasmus they are an 80-minute team? All will be revealed in Sydney on Saturday. And come what may, Erasmus will have soaked up priceless intelligence on the Wallabies.
The South African
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
Springboks shift gears as Rugby Championship looms
Rassie Erasmus lauded his the Springboks' first week of conditioning camp in Johannesburg ahead of the upcoming Rugby Championship. The Springboks concluded the first block of their Rugby Championship conditioning camp in Johannesburg on Thursday, earning coach Rassie Erasmus's approval. The players will spend the weekend with their families before reporting back for duty on Sunday. The first of their two-week camp included intense field and gym sessions, as well as strategic boardroom discussions. Erasmus emphasised that this preparation is vital ahead of a demanding championship featuring South Africa's greatest southern hemisphere rivals. 'We had an intense week of conditioning to get the players ready for a challenging campaign,' he said. 'We wanted players to shift mindset in preparation for different contests against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.' The players targeted specific areas needing improvement following the mid-year Incoming Series against Italy and Georgia. Erasmus noted that those concerns were now integrated into the training blocks. He added that Australia's recent performances against the British & Irish Lions showed their strength and that the Springboks must prepare both mentally and physically. Next week's focus will shift towards tactical preparation. The coaches plan to model opposition patterns and explore strategies to counter Australia's recent style of play. The Wallabies should arrive battle-hardened from their Lions tour, meaning the Springboks expect a high-intensity contest in the first two Tests, in Johannesburg on 16 August and Cape Town on 23 August respectively. Following South Africa's matches with Australia, the Springboks face New Zealand in back-to-back Tests in Auckland and Wellington on 6 and 13 September. They wrap up the championship with fixtures against Argentina in Durban on 27 September and London on 4 October. Erasmus also defended the inclusion of three stars from South Africa's U20 World Cup-winning squad, Pead, Hlekani, and Jooste, in the senior camp. He said that exposing young talent to top-level environments helps develop squad depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Overall, Erasmus called the first week a success, saying: 'We laid a good foundation. From next week, we'll focus more on what to expect from Australia.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
20 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Rassie Erasmus pleased Springboks' 'mind-shift' during Rugby Championship preparation camp
Rassie Erasmus put the Springboks through their paces during a preparation camp for the Rugby Championship. Image: Backpagepix Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus says the first week of the team's conditioning camp in Johannesburg has laid a solid foundation for the forthcoming Rugby Championship, and momentum will be accelerated when the players reassemble on Sunday. The team wrapped up the first block of training on Thursday and will spend the weekend with their families before reporting for duty again in a few days, where they will continue to build on their structures for the opening leg of the tournament. The Boks play back-to-back Test matches against the Wallabies in Johannesburg on Saturday, August 16, and Cape Town on August 23. 'We had an intense week of conditioning to get the players ready for what will undoubtedly be a challenging Rugby Championship campaign against some of the top teams in the world, so we are pleased with the strides made and the mind-shift the players made for what will be a completely different contest against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina,' said Erasmus. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The Boks warmed up for the Rugby Championship with matches against the Barbarians, Italy (twice), and Georgia. 'We identified a few key areas of our game that we felt we needed to improve on after the Incoming Series, and we incorporated those areas into our training and conditioning blocks this week. 'The teams we will face in the next few months will ask different questions and pose different challenges, so it was important for the group to align on what to expect in the next few weeks, so this camp was vital in ensuring that we prepare adequately for what lies ahead,' the coach explained. The training camp featured a series of gym and field training sessions, as well as boardroom sessions, and Erasmus said they will delve deeper into the opposition from next week. 'We laid a good foundation this week, and next week we will zone more into what we expect from Australia and start developing plans to counter what we expect from them,' he said. 'They showed last week against the British and Irish Lions what they are capable of, so we need to be ready mentally and physically for what they will throw at us in South Africa.' The matches against Australia will be followed by successive Tests against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington (on September 6 and 13) and Los Pumas in Durban and London (on September 27 and October 4).
The Citizen
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Foundation laid, Boks will zone in on Wallabies next week — Rassie
The reigning world champions will be first up in the Rugby Championship against Australia in two Tests in South Africa. The Springboks wrapped up their first week of training on Thursday ahead of this year's Rugby Championship and will next week turn their attention to their first Test in the competition, against the Wallabies. The reigning world champions will be up against Australia in two Tests, in Joburg and Cape Town, on 16 and 23 August to get their Rugby Championship campaign under way. The Boks have been in camp in Joburg this week, but will now have the weekend off before regrouping next week. Bok boss Rassie Erasmus said it was vital to first get all the players on the same page and up to speed about the coaching team's requirements and expectations before turning their focus to the Wallabies. The Australia wrap up their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday. 'Key areas to work on' 'We had an intense week of conditioning to get the players ready for what will undoubtedly be a challenging Rugby Championship campaign against some of the top teams in the world, so we are pleased with the strides made and the mind-shift the players made for what will be a completely different contest against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina,' said Erasmus on Thursday. 'We identified a few key areas of our game that we felt we needed to improve on after the Incoming Series, and we incorporated those areas into our training and conditioning blocks this week. 'The teams we will face in the next few months will ask different questions and pose different challenges, so it was important for the group to align on what to expect in the next few weeks, so this camp was vital in ensuring that we prepare adequately for what lies ahead.' 'Zone in on Australia' The training camp featured a series of gym and field training sessions, as well as boardroom sessions, and Erasmus said they will delve deeper into the opposition from next week. 'We laid a good foundation this week, and next week we will zone more into what we expect from Australia and start developing plans to counter what we expect from them,' he said. 'They showed last week against the British and Irish Lions what they are capable of, so we need to be ready mentally and physically for what they will throw at us in South Africa.' The matches against Australia will be followed by successive Tests against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington (on 6 and 13 September) and Los Pumas in Durban and London (on 27 September and 4 October).
The Citizen
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Rassie Erasmus looks at player ages, prep for 2027 Rugby World Cup
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said aside from issues in their game play, the team is in a good place halfway through its four-year preparation cycle for the next Rugby World Cup. When also asked whether some senior players would still be considered for the 2027 global showpiece in Australia, he said selection would be fair – If older players are still performing, they will be there. Erasmus was speaking to media amid their two-week training camp in Johannesburg ahead of their Rugby Championship title defence. This begins with games against Australia in Johannesburg and Cape Town on August 16 and 23, respectively. Gap in player experience Thirty-seven Test-capped players are included in the squad for those games, with eight capable Springboks acting as backup. Three Junior Springbok stars who helped their team win the World Rugby U20 Championship joined the camp, as Erasmus seeks depth and eyes all 'possibilities of players' in the coming months and years. When asked about preparation for 2027, Erasmus said: 'I can't really say there are any problems – I am not saying with our game, there are lots of things we must fix.' He said during Covid-19, players lost out on rugby from school level all the way to domestic and international level. Erasmus saw the result of that in the quality of players currently aged 20 to 26. But he is adapting to this. 'You lose two years of guys developing. But overall, apart from that I'll be looking for excuses because I think we are pretty much on track. 'But we are trying to focus on the now without forgetting the future. We know 2027 is going to be big but if we don't do well leading up to it, we might lose momentum.' Older Springboks will be selected if they perform The Springboks have a number of older players who may retire in the coming years. Siya Kolisi (34), Cobus Reinach (35), Bongi Mbonambi (34), Damian de Allende (33), Eben Etzebeth (33), Faf de Klerk (33), Franco Mostert (34), Makazole Mapimpi (35), Vincent Koch (35) and Willie le Roux (35), are among them. Erasmus said age is not as important as ability. 'Probably all of us will be involved until 2027 if I don't get fired before then,' he smiled. However, he said: 'Trying to calculate which guys will be there in 2027, that's why we had a camp with 45 guys here. Because we are not 100% sure. 'Some guys we feel iffy, some guys we think will definitely make it. Some guys are just freaks of athletes, like Johnny Sexton who can play until they are 38. But you don't get a lot of those.' That was why he is trying to build a large player base. 'They plan their rugby lives around their age and how well they can play. So if they are still in the top one to three in their positions until 2026, we'll probably play those guys. But making plans like we did, having bigger groups, making sure the younger guys coming through are quite comfortable… I think we are okay.' In recent history, Schalk Brits played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup at the age of 38, and Duane Vermeulen was 37 at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Likewise, Deon Fourie was the oldest player to make his Springbok debut, at 36. He was 37 when he played in the 2023 Rugby World Cup. This article first appeared in The Citizen. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.
