Erasmus has come out in support of World Rugby's maul law application guideline, arguing its effects go well beyond giving the Boks a platform off the driving maul — which yielded tries for Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende in the second Test win over the All Blacks. His core point is structural: by preventing defenders who have moved past the ball from staying engaged in the maul, the guideline has effectively ended the era of teams killing the maul through drag-and-collapse tactics. That shifts the contest back to a genuine pushing competition, which in turn forces defending teams to commit more bodies — and opens space for backlines across the board. Erasmus specifically cites the All Blacks as beneficiaries, noting how New Zealand use the threat of the maul to create vacuums for big runners onto the first receiver. His read is that the guideline hasn't just rewarded mauling teams; it's rebalanced the game by making eight-man defensive commitments mandatory, which is one reason high-scoring matches are becoming more common.