Malcolm Marx has given a candid account of how the Bomb Squad concept took shape, recalling the early conversations Erasmus had with his front-rowers in 2019 to explain the logic behind a forward-heavy bench. Marx describes a culture of trust built on years of Erasmus trialling unconventional ideas — a culture that made players willing to back even the most extreme version of the tactic. On the 7-1 split used at Twickenham ahead of the 2023 World Cup, Marx is refreshingly blunt: "It was hectic" and genuinely risky, with scenarios like Kwagga Smith potentially having to cover wing. But the accumulated evidence of Erasmus's thinking-outside-the-box calls paying off meant the squad leaned in rather than pushed back. The piece also touches on how the name itself emerged organically — either Louw or RG Snyman gets the credit — and how the mindset framing (starters give everything, finishers change the game) gave bench players a sense of mission rather than consolation.