Determined Rassie Desperate To End Dublin Drought
Decorated Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus appeared determined to set the record straight as he prepares to take his World Cup-winning team to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin — a venue where he admitted he has never won as a coach.
He offered an honest reflection on the significance of a fixture the Springboks have not won in more than a decade.
The Springboks have not won at the Aviva Stadium since 2012 – when they edged out Ireland 16-12 – and the highly rated Irish have won three of the last four matches against the reigning World Cup champions, including victory in the 2023 Rugby World Cup group stage.
Boasting a record victory over the All Blacks in Wellington and a comfortable win over France with 14 men in Paris two weeks ago, Erasmus was asked whether this Test would determine the success of the Springboks’ season. Erasmus gave a measured response.
“I don’t think it will determine if it’s a success or not. If we play at our best but Ireland is better on the day, there is nothing else we can say or do except that Ireland is better,” he said firmly.
“We’ve been together since June, and keeping the intensity and emotional high after New Zealand and France isn’t easy.”
Erasmus added that while the team has not always played well, they need to keep to their standards.
“We never always play brilliant rugby, but it would be great going into this match and we play well, and to our standards.”
Erasmus made it clear that a victory would be significant: “We’d love to win and say we’ve beaten Ireland in Dublin and had a great season. It could define us, but we’ll keep reality in mind.”
Although the Springboks have garnered victories in different parts of the world, none of the current squad has won at the Aviva in Dublin, a venue that has eluded them, and Erasmus did not hide from the topic.
“It does come up – I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. I’ve never won at Aviva as a coach. I’ve lost here with Munster against Scarlets and Saracens,” he said.
“It’s not revenge, more a competitive environment against a team that’s been in the top four for years. There’s excitement because it’s something we haven’t done and we want to go ahead and do it.”
He added that while they will be held accountable, failure wouldn’t be the end of the world.
“If we don’t get it right, we know we’ll get flak. Australia hadn’t beaten us at Ellis Park in years, and then did. Life moved on, and we gave the All Blacks one of their biggest defeats in history. We don’t want to dwell. But it would be great to say we got one in Dublin.”
Erasmus was keen to denounce that he had a personal rivalry with Ireland and brushed aside any talk on that matter due to his past coaching ties to the country.
“If it’s about me, we’re focusing on the wrong things. This team represents all the people in South Africa. I know it’s spicy when people build up something between me and Ireland. I’ve made it clear what I learnt in Ireland, I won’t take it back to South Africa. I’ve learnt respect for their discipline, precision, and how they do things.”
With the Irish being somewhat of a thorn in the side of Erasmus and the Springboks, the Bok coach was quick to credit Ireland’s system and technical excellence for making them a challenging opponent.
“The Irish system is great – the number of players they have and the way their high-performance programmes work. Technically, players get better here. For them, stopping a maul isn’t always brute force; it can be technical. They study a lot and have sessions to understand their run times and lineout calls, among other things.”
Erasmus elaborated on the last few games being tight encounters between the two sides.
Looking back at the Irish tour to South Africa in 2024, the Springboks won the first game largely due to the Irish not being at their best and making many mistakes at Loftus. The four-time World Champions won that 27-20 but came up short, a week later in Durban, when Jack Crowley’s last-minute drop goal secured the victory in front of a stunned crowd, 24-25.
“In the World Cup, the last maul just kept us out. In 2022, van der Flier’s foot almost touched and went out, but they scored the vital try. In Durban, we had a drop goal in the last minute. We weren’t far off or outplayed. Their technicality in sorting out fickle areas has caused us frustration.”
Erasmus admitted that planning for this Test was complicated as the disciplinary processes involving Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager threw a spanner in the works, but they drew confidence from the process that was followed.
“Until this morning, I was thinking about using a 7-1 split. The disciplinary processes for Franco and Lood’s decisions have buggered up the training sessions. We’re confident in the processes and protocols followed, and we understand how they got to the result. If a mistake was made but can be rectified, fantastic. In the end, we decided to pick the guys who trained all week.”
The upcoming Test also marks RG Snyman’s 50th appearance for South Africa. Despite the milestone, Snyman will come off the bench – something Erasmus says the lock accepted willingly.
“It would’ve been lovely to allow him to start, and I think he loves to start. He knows his role from the bench, and despite it being his 50th, he had no problem playing from the bench. He is willing to make the sacrifice, and this is the best for the team.”
Erasmus also acknowledged the trio of Springbok nominees Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, and Pieter-Steph du Toit – up for the World Player of the Year award this weekend. While proud of their recognition, he remained grounded.
“We tend to focus on the things we can control. We are very proud of the guys. Even if they don’t get it, at least they are nominated. We must support them with our performance on Saturday.”
In preparation for Saturday’s showdown, Erasmus’s comments illustrate the magnitude of the challenge whilst quietly wanting to release the albatross from their neck of Aviva Stadium. For all they have accomplished, the Springboks will desperately want to succeed in their pursuit of a long-awaited Dublin victory.
