With the pre-series narrative already being shaped around game tempo and alleged Springbok time-wasting, Steve Hansen has offered a sharp read on what's actually happening: Erasmus is playing everyone, not just the opposition. Hansen's 'master of sabotage' label isn't a criticism so much as a backhanded compliment — he's warning Rennie and the All Blacks camp not to get drawn into the public-facing messaging, because whatever Rassie says out loud is almost certainly not what the Boks will do on the field. Hansen goes further, arguing that Erasmus's media management extends beyond the press: he's simultaneously working the fans, the opposition, and the journalists themselves, most of whom, in Hansen's view, simply broadcast whatever they're fed. The piece also touches on Erasmus's decision to bring Jaco Peyper to the presser to reframe the tempo debate on technical grounds — a move Hansen implicitly reads as another layer of the same strategic misdirection.