Erasmus has stepped forward to absorb the fallout from the Ellis Park defeat to the All Blacks, framing the loss as the result of his own over-complication rather than player error. The piece examines how he's drawing the line between genuine accountability and protecting his squad from the post-match noise — and whether that distinction holds up.
AnalysisSpringboksSA Rugby Mag · SuperSport Rugby· updated
Rassie owns the Ellis Park loss — and keeps his players out of it
Erasmus is taking personal ownership of the All Blacks loss at Ellis Park, admitting he was 'too clever' in his approach and deliberately shielding players from having to justify the defeat publicly.
- Rassie Erasmus
- New Zealand
- Springboks
Related stories
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.
Mulder's '95 Warning: Don't Sleep on the All Blacks
1995 World Cup winner Japie Mulder warns against writing off the All Blacks ahead of the four-Test series, drawing on South Africa's own underdog story to argue the gap in rankings doesn't guarantee a comfortable series win.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
So how deep is the Springbok squad?
Lekker! Hola! Head to https://squarespace.com/squidgerugby to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code SQUIDGERUGBY