John Kirwan has gone on record saying Rennie's most important quality heading into a 15-month World Cup build won't be tactical — it'll be courage. Kirwan openly loathes the Bomb Squad but concedes it works, and frames Erasmus's willingness to rotate his Test team week-to-week as the kind of selection boldness that Robertson conspicuously lacked. His expectation is that Rennie will name four or five genuine bolters from the Super Rugby Pacific finalists, signalling a break from his predecessor's conservatism. The broader argument here is that South Africa's back-to-back World Cup wins have reset the benchmark for what brave coaching looks like — and that benchmark is now being used to judge coaches in rival nations.
AnalysisGeneralPlanet Rugby
Kirwan wants Rennie to channel Erasmus — even if it means copying what he hates
Kirwan is using Erasmus's selection courage — Bomb Squad and all — as the yardstick for what Rennie must deliver, arguing Robertson's conservatism cost the All Blacks and that genuine boldness in selection is now the minimum standard post-Bok dominance.
- Rassie Erasmus
- Springboks
- Rugby World Cup
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