Rassie, the All Blacks' kryptonite
Rassie Erasmus has
been the game changer in the Springboks' rivalry with the All Blacks, argues
Kiwi journalist Jamie Wall on the latest episode of To The Last Drop.
The Springboks had an unflattering record against the All Blacks before Erasmus took the reins in 2018 but he has turned around their fortunes, even against their old foes.
Wall, author of The 100 years' War, contends that Erasmus is similar to All Blacks coach Scott Robertson who is also an out-of-the-box thinker, while neither is tied to convention.
He says both coaches tend to build their teams in their image and that their forceful character stand front and centre.
Wall says Erasmus is well respected in New Zealand and that his record speaks for itself.
He believes the game's two superpowers need each other but fears Australia and Argentina might be neglected now that the Springboks and the All Blacks are committed to playing a Test series every four years.
Listen to all the details in the latest To The Last Drop episode with Brenden Nel and Liam Del Carme.
Click above, or directly below, to listen.
Meanwhile, in an earlier episode of To the Last Drop, coaching guru Swys de Bruin said that Handre Pollard is the GOAT and should be treated as such. De Bruin said Pollard's ice-in-the-veins exploits helped propel South Africa to successive Rugby World Cup titles.
De Bruin is in awe of the depth the Springboks have created in their player ranks. The Springboks have exposed more players to the Test arena this year and the emergence of Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu has brought fresh debate to the flyhalf position.
While he has no doubt Feinberg-Mngomezulu has a bright Bok future, De Bruin believes dimming the lights on Handre Pollard's Test career would be premature.
For the full interview, listen to the podcast directly below.
About the 'To The Last Drop' podcast hosts
Liam Del Carme is one of the country's most enduring sports writers. His time in the newsrooms pre-dates rugby turning professional in the 1990s. Del Carme has been in the employ of broadsheet newspapers The Argus, Sunday Independent, This Day and Beeld, and is currently the rugby writer at The Sunday Times.
Del Carme has reported at six Rugby World Cups and around 20 Currie Cup finals.
He loves cooking and travel and is the author of the book 'WINGING IT – On tour with the Boks'. When time allows he is a television pundit and writes a regular column on timeslive.co.za under the title ‘The Worst of Times’.
Brenden Nel
Rugby has always been a passion for Brenden, so much so that he made it a career. Since first entering a newsroom at the Citizen almost three decades ago, he has written for some of the biggest titles in the world, including Rapport, the Independent (UK), The Times (UK), South China Morning Post and a host of others. Currently, he covers all things rugby for Supersport.com and has reported on no less than four World Cups, five Sevens World Cups and around 250 test matches in total.
Brenden is also the author of Derick Hougaard - Dieware storie van Loftus se Liefling and has a popular YouTube channel under his name. He loves nothing more when away from the game than a glass of good red wine, a good fire and spending time with his wife and four rescue dogs.