the real deal? One way or another all will be revealed as the Boks unravel through RWC 2019. The jury might still be out for some but my own view is that he is a pretender.
Jake White was a coach in the moment......Rassie is not. Evidence of this claim is found in the fact that Erasmus stepped onto the world stage with a half baked strategy, wholly defence based and a non-existent attack. He simply didn't get that his backline needed to add potency around a good defence.... one is a necessity as well as the other.
Then there's his selctions. How Brits made the squad is beyond understanding and why versatile Curwin Bosch, a player with natural speed was left off the squad remains a mystery. Bosch, for example, would have been a useful replacement for the hapless Willie Le Roux and at the same time would have added speed to the back three. Bosch behind a solid pack would also have been a good choice as an alternative to Pollard as opposed to the poor man's imitation of Carlos Spencer, schoolboy Elton Jantjies.
Looking at the game against NZ......his substitutions, timing of his substitutions and lack of an earlier response to a gameplan not working strikes me as a deer staring into the headlights kinda scenario. A young and inexperienced Herschelle Jantjies was thrown into the cut and thrust when the Boks were desperately trailing in a game they didn't look like winning and to make matter worse the kid had all of 9 minutes to turn things around. That has to be said was a move in desperation with not a thought around giving the kid a fair chance. Jake always spoke about how youngsters were affected by the occasion of the WC. The stats show that the Boks kicked less than the ABs, the difference though is whereas the AB kicks paid off the mortgage the Boks ballooned theirs, further proof that liabilty Faf should have been an earlier substitution. But then there are other substitutions, puling off Etzebeth and replacing him with another lightweight in Snyman who is then coupled with the tossed about Mostert beggars belief.
Other than Kolbe there are no reliable bomb diffusers in the back three, another Erasmus oversight, hard to believe but scroll back to Super15 and there are ample examples of how Mampini proved himself clueless under the high ball. One in particular I watched at the ground was the game between the Waratahs and the Sharks. Nkosi in that same game proved himself up to the task so how did Mampini get himself ahead in the pecking order.
I've almost lost complete faith in Erasmus and I hope for the sake of the Boks that he proves me wrong, in the meantime the game against Italy awaits, I expect the Boks to win but it's the how and by how many that interests me.
