Rassie the genius . . .

Before the RWC started I said words to the effect that I consider Rassie to be a crybaby, a bungling fool with a big ego and lacking the courage or ambition to play attacking and exciting rugby.

During the RWC I said that Rassie made some incredibly stupid and shortsighted decisions and I complained bitterly about the mindless kick-and-hope game plan.

Now it's after the World Cup is over and we have defended our title successfully and become the first team to win 4 titles.

I still find it hard to forgive Rassie for his embarrassing crybaby behaviour during the British Lions tour, I still think he lacks the courage or ambition to play attacking and exciting running rugby. I do believe he had the biggest and best pool of talent to choose from and nearly botched it and I still dislike his insatiable need to control everything . . . but (and this is a big "but") . . . I also said before the tournament started that if he won it, I would call him a rugby genius and that is what inspires this post.

I don't like Rassie. For me he has a big ego, he whines a lot, he uses a lot of foul language, he's abrasive and he generally behaves like a caricature of the arrogant dutchman . . . but he is a genius.

Rassie has two very good positive attributes. I've spoken about Rassie's skills as a motivator before but I don't believe that's "genius", it's more to do with the fact that he was a Springbok himself and a very good one at that so he commands respect from the players in his squad.

Rassie's genius is his ability to execute. We all have great plans and ideas but how often do we execute them? Rassie executes. He is the Elon Musk of rugby. That is Rassie's genius and don't forget, a poor plan is still better than no plan at all.

Well done Bokke! Well done Rassie Erasmus!

Yes many people have said Rassie is a rugby genius

I think we had a good group of players with few world class players. Yes we had Etzebdth and Marx. But Marx  played no part.

Think about it who are our world vlass players. Players who would come into a reckoning in picking a World match 23.

I would adding Kolbe and Faf, Du Toit. RG is not there yet. Kitshof not at his very best. Malherbe well maybe nobody shoved him around. Nyankane and Koch are good players but not world class. 

Ox got neutralized on Saturday. Is he a great?

Mostert is not World class. Kleyn is average. Neither is Kolisi. Duane still playing well for his age but world class.

Etc etc. Run through our team yourself. 

So we have a few stars and a lot of good players The game plan suited them and they executed. We played so what we know and to our strengths. The will to win was enormous. 

I am extremely happy Rassie had the courage to call out that Crooked ref in the Lions test and highlight their disrespect for Kolisi. Lesser coaches wouldn't have dared.

Some honesty would be nice..this from 2 days before the final,  by the same poster who started this thread:

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"& we picked 4 number 9s"

There's some irony there. Like I said earlier, if we win this RWC it'll be despite Rassie, not because of him.

The initial selection of 4 scrumhalves, the decision to exclude Pollard from the original squad, the selection of Am to replace Mapimpi when we didn't use him even once, the 7-1 split for the final, the kick-and-hope game plan . . . all stupid shortsighted decisions made by an egotistical fool trying to prove he's some kind of genius.

Oh well . . . Go Bokke!

Mrs Searle isn't the most vigorous power tool in a granny's top drawer. 

He’s not the first attention seeker to belatedly try to join the winning team, just the most obvious,

I’ll quote you, stats don’t tell the whole story….unless of course you are referring to meters gained.

Dave sorry, I enjoy backline play…this kick and defend stuff doesn’t  rock my boat even if we win the WC 5 times in a row. 

England certainly did and Scotland weren’t in the playoffs. France and Ireland tried to play an all court game. Admittedly the French lost effectiveness as the match wore on….but they still outgained us by 100 meters, by 13 clean breaks to 6, by 43 defenders beaten to 12, by 13 offloads to 2.

You say kick and defend, but the defend part was barely present! Turnstyle. If we played like this in most past WCs we'd have lost every game.

The guy who Aladmits he is wrong is dishinest but the guy who got it wrong and refuses to admit it is honest. The upside down world of mozzz. 

Honestly what has happened to this guy. His has completely gone off the rails since the Plandemic was launched. 

Come '24 ................ dunno if I'll be that keen for more of the same, kicking away 75% , bomb squads & kragtigheid, feeding off errors & pressure from our outstanding defence, running & passing a forgotten pleasure .

No Peeper I’m saying that wrapping yourself in a Rassie blanket and omitting your telling phrase : ‘ like I said earlier, if we win this RWC it'll be despite Rassie, not because of him’…….posted 2 days before the final…..is blatantly dishonest.

Dave sorry, I enjoy backline play…this kick and defend stuff doesn’t  rock my boat even if we win the WC 5 times in a row

This from the idiot who a few years ago claimed that 10 man rugby is the traditional Springbok Rugby and that 90% of a flyhalf functions entail kicking of balls.   That was when he was defending Morne Steyn totally destroying backline play by the Springhboks.    Another day - another story and the story remaine the same - from 2018.  

He was horrified by the appointment and made false statements about Erasmus/s coaching career  and BS stories about he Springboks being unable to play backline rugby and yet scored more tries in WC series that his 4 predecessors combined..     

We won 2 RWCs in a row, the last on probably the toughest road to a final ever...yes, there's room for improvement,  but belittling this massive achievement is the stupidest thing imaginable...FFS, take a step back and zoom out a bit...live a little and get out of the bitter cesspit.

Good on him, but that makes it super awkward when the penalty still stands and Handre Pollard duly kicks the three points.’

….

Can you imagine the ‘we was robbed’ howls that would have exploded on here were we on the other side of the ref decisions.

Moffie, I know you have a lot of egg on your face, but if you could miraculously grow a pair of balls and if you bothered to read what other people say before going off on one of your pompous and childish tirades, you'd see the bit where I said this . . .

". . .  but (and this is a big "but") . . . I also said before the tournament started that if he won it, I would call him a rugby genius and that is what inspires this post."

Looks like it wasn't a big enough "but" for your feeble little brain to grasp.

I'm just saying what I promised to say if Rassie won. You only need to be reasonably intelligent to know my opinions of Rassie before and during the tournament. I'm not denying I doubted him.

But Rassie did win it . . . sorry, I know that makes you a bit dispirited and I also know we didn't win it on your . . . ummm . . . . handicap system . . . but Rassie did win us the RWC and my post is me acknowledging that and fulfilling my promise to call him a genius if he won it. He proved us doubters wrong. I can admit that. You find that dishonest. You'd rather carry on bashing Rassie as if nothing even happened just because New Zealand got a red card which you think is worth 10 points. 

You'd rather cling to that pathetic little excuse and make a complete and utter fool of yourself than actually admit you got it wrong.

And then, to top it all you call me dishonest.

LMAO!

What a self-important little weakling you are, Moffie.

Moz, now you're grasping at straws, honesty my arse...he gave them a try off a knock on and allmost gave the first off a KO too...reluctantly reversed it on TMO's recommendation...it was a close game...we relaxed after the red...the red was the turning point that got them back in the game...bizarre as that sound, we were all over them in the first 30 and I thought we were going to see a repeat of the Twickers game...good on them for fighting themselves back into the match and running us close, but please stop making out as if the ref was poor in our favor or that we didn't deserve to win...you are trying to devalue a Springbok RWC victory for the second time running...you should mabe go and talk to someone...this doesn't make sence...

PS, it's rugby, not golf...we don't use the stupid handicap nonsense. 

Can you imagine the ‘we was robbed’ howls that would have exploded on here were we on the other side of the ref decisions.

We hear howls even as the Boks have benefitted immensely over the past three years.

we relaxed after the red...the red was the turning point that got them back in the game..

The Boks didn't relax. They were simply dominated for pretty much 80 minutes. They were ripping into is from the start! I don't know what game you think you were watching. 

nonsense! It was all Bokke for the first 30m....we had 56% territory with only 37% of the possession...we gave the ball back to them and pinned them in their half...and then we defended the small lead.

LOLO!!!!.... Moz cruising Kiwi ref bashing sites to get dirt on the Bokke...priceless.!

"He wasn't apologising. He just says sorry Ardie, I didn't see the replay.. and I didn't see a clear release. Not sure why people think it's an apology."

"Jordie Barrett and Richie Mo’unga both had kicks at goal, which could have won the game for the All Blacks. New Zealand lost lineout ball twice in attacking territory in the first half. They finished the game with 19 turnovers conceded, which is the most they have conceded in any match in 2023. Against Ireland, it was only three!

A rugby genius? What exactly did he do to better the team? There is no evidence of good coaching. The tactics were flawed, selections were poor, and the team had to survive in spite of it. It took a few lucky breaks here and there. A few stubborn individuals, just like last time, the less fancied players. Yes, a few months ago, only an effing idiot would choose Ox over Kits, the most dominant scumming loosehead of all time. How'd that work out for you? Likewise Malherbe. Saddex, you wouldn't know a rugby fact if it was tattooed onto your forehead. 

Don't worry Saddex, the first thirty years of childhood are the hardest. You'll get th ere son. 

So the net of this was we had a 10 point handicap because of the red card debacle….and we got three extra points for a penalty that should not have been given. Thirteen points.

As for the genius. Nothing we did was genius or innovative it was kick and defend. And not having a bench hooker, scrum half, flyhalf or kicker was imprudent to say the least.

The players individually have my respect, but our tactics were basic. All you can possibly say for the genius is they were motivated and the basic disciplines were sound.

But all that separated us from the other 3 playoff teams we beat was Pollard’s superior kicking and that had nothing to do with the genius. In fact if Marx hadn’t got hurt the genius wouldn’t have had his services.

So spare me the BS.

Really ….I have heard a lot of moaning about my take on the final, but not one rebuttal that holds up. But I’ll give you a chance, tell us what about our win required ‘genius’. Be specific.