FEVER PITCH: Are the Boks rattled or rattling the cage, hungry to be let loose?

Rassie Erasmus, the wily old master of mayhem and mischief, was up to his old tricks this week as the first Test of the first full series between the Springboks and All Blacks took centre stage.

World Rugby’s new protocols don’t allow coaches to speak directly to referees before Tests unless the opposing coach attends as well. So Erasmus sent an email to the All Blacks, saying they would not meet referee Matt Carley before the Test. All Blacks counterpart Dave Rennie was unsurprised, saying he wouldn’t have done so either.

Instead, it has been left to Erasmus and his Bok assistant coaches to address concerns they have in public via the media.

The first point of business was countering the All Blacks’ public claim that South Africa want to slow the game down, whereas New Zealand want to speed it up. The inference was clear – the All Blacks play by the rules – see how we run and put phases together and hurry to line-outs – and the Boks don’t.

Erasmus was never going to sit by idly and let this narrative be pushed. He turned up on Monday, 17 August, for a media briefing with laws adviser Jaco Pey­per, a former Test referee and attorney, at his side.

When the first question from the floor touched on the “slow” narrative, Erasmus and Peyper were anything but slovenly in the speed and depth of their responses.

Essentially they said the Boks had had no warnings about slow play from World Rugby through the appropriate channels, and they didn’t play boring rugby. Erasmus referenced last year’s record 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington as evidence of being half-decent at rugby.

“Was that boring?” Erasmus asked rhetorically. All Blacks supporters might dislike that Wellington game for many reasons, but the Boks’ style of play can’t be one of them.

Peyper took aim at the old “ball-in-play” metric, which some pundits like to trot out as a measure of how good a game of rugby is.

“The ball was in play for 46 minutes in our last match against Argentina,” Peyper said of the turgid encounter two weeks ago, which the Boks won 17-10. “The ball was only in play for 32 minutes against France in Paris last year,” he said of that brilliant, drama-filled contest, which a a 14-man Bok squad won 32-17. The point was well made, even if it was from a sample size of two.

The pair continued to muse aloud on other issues, hinting at the potential ethical conflict of the match officials staying in the All Blacks’ hotel, where they might just run into Rennie over breakfast, or in the lift.

They threw out a line about “tucked arms” by All Blacks players when hitting the ruck, although they didn’t delve deeply into it.

That was left to assistant coach Felix Jones the following day. Jones expressed concern about what he saw as a tucked arm, leading with the shoulder into rucks.

“We don’t mind physicality, we just want to be sure it’s within the law,” he said.

Carley would have to try extremely hard to miss the points the Boks were making in lieu of a private audience with the match official.

Speculation about nerves

Given the unusual wealth and depth of analy­sis the Boks’ management shared publicly, it has led New Zealand fans and pundits to ask whether the Boks are rattled. Has the unflappable Rennie got into their heads and made the Boks doubt themselves?

It’s not an unreasonable question, and one that will only be partly answered after the first Test and only fully unpacked at the conclusion of the four-Test extravaganza.

Rennie has a remarkably good record as a coach against the Boks, winning three of the four Tests he presided over as Wallabies mentor between 2021 and 2023. A 75% Test-winning record against the Boks, against an overall 37% winning ratio as Australia coach, is significant and perhaps points to something about Rennie’s stoic yet calculated style that worries the Boks.

Erasmus has only ever been gracious when talking about Rennie directly, admitting he’s a fine coach. And he also spoke respectfully about the haka and the Boks’ understanding for the tradition.

Erasmus also called on South African fans to be respectful and silent during the haka.

“Since [assistant coach] Tony [Brown] has told us what the haka means, we obviously respect it, but we admire it a little more. You won’t see us doing funny tricks when they do the haka,” Erasmus said.

“We have always had this weird opinion about the haka, that it’s an advantage, and why can the All Blacks do it? Since Tony has described it for us, it’s actually an honour to face it. The players are looking forward to it.

“In the past we thought, ‘How are we going to cancel this?’ But since Tony has explained it, it’s not what it does to us, it’s what it does to them. You can’t nullify what the haka does to them by going into a huddle and steaming up to them.”

So, yes, the Boks might be slightly rattled. But in a way it’s a good thing. Their wariness and respect for the opposition will sharpen minds and refocus energy.

With five wins in their last six Tests against the All Blacks, overconfidence could creep in. It’s unlikely that it would in the current Bok environment, because they are highly motivated by new goals every season.

You don’t win back-to-back World Cups and Rugby Championships and post record wins over the All Blacks by resting on your laurels. It only happens with constant evolution and a non-negotiable drive to im­­prove standards.

Erasmus loves the battle, and that includes using the media to make some of his points. But behind the team room door, the internal narrative will be slightly different.

How to win

The world champions are packed with experienced players now – Damian de Allende will play his 100th Test this weekend and Pieter-Steph du Toit his 100th in the second Test. That’s in addition to a swathe of players with more than 30 Test caps.

This experience breeds calmness and an understanding of their game plan. The Boks’ foundations were laid long ago, and layers and layers have been added to the match matrix.

They are not trying to change their style or embed a new game model. Although Rennie’s All Blacks are certainly looking dangerous while unearthing or polishing some excellent-looking Test players such as flank Anton Segner, flyhalf Ruben Love and No 8 Peter Lakai, they are still a work in progress. That’s not to say they can’t win a Test, or even the series, but the latter outcome would be a surprise.

Where the All Blacks are obviously weaker is in terms of experience. They have fine athletes and great rugby players, but is the difference between the best 23 and the rest as narrow as it is in the Bok camp?

Over four Tests, this could be telling as both teams will have to rotate players to maintain momentum and reduce fatigue. The Boks have been doing it for almost eight years. They are comfortable with seeing nine or 10 changes from one week to another.

It’s fair to speculate, and it sounds obvious, but the All Blacks must be putting all their energy into winning the first Test. For them, the series probably hinges on the outcome at Ellis Park. You can’t see the All Blacks beating the Boks three weekends in a row if they lose in Johannesburg. Conversely, the Boks are desperate to win at Ellis Park to take the series by the throat. But if they lose, you sense they won’t panic.

They lost games in the pool phase of the last two World Cups, and won both. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.