All Blacks coach comments on influence of Rassie Erasmus
· The South African
The Springboks and New Zealand will soon kick off a highly-anticipated four-Test series, which will pit Rassie Erasmus against new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie.
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The famed Springbok coach has led the team through a period of hegemony over the last eight years, while in many ways Rennie is looking to follow in the footsteps of Erasmus by bringing a fresh start to the All Blacks in hopes of seeing them establish a consistent period of success.
On Friday the All Blacks will kick off their tour against the Stormers in Cape Town, and on the eve of that clash, Rennie mentioned the impact of Erasmus that he had taken note of.
“Our focus is on the provincial games at the moment, but Rassie’s a big personality in the game, and he’s had a lot of influence,” said Rennie, who has overseen an impressive unbeaten start since taking charge of the All Blacks, while there has been a clear shift back to a traditional high-tempo game.
“He (Erasmus) is very innovative around what he’s done, and the fact that a lot of people talk about our game is a positive thing, and he’s been a big part of that over the last eight years.
“We’ll expect a few curveballs coming in the series, and we’ve got a few plans ourselves.”
All Blacks coach acknowledges a few Stormers players will be looking to impress Rassie Erasmus
Stormers boss John Dobson has named 11 URC champions in the Cape team’s match 23, and the likes of Evan Roos and Ntuthuko Mchunu will certainly want to make an impression after forming part of the Springboks’ squad earlier this year.
“Rassie has shown that he’s prepared to take a punt on good young players coming through, and he’s used an enormous amount of players already this year.” Rennie commented.
“I would imagine that everyone is excited to perform well and apply pressure or get their name in the hat,” Rennie added. “I’m sure it’s a motivating factor for them.”
The Stormers-All Blacks clash will kick off on Friday at 19:00.
TEAM LINE-UPS
Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (captain), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 André-Hugo Venter, 1 Vernon Matongo.
Replacements: 16 JJ Kotzé, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ruan Ackermann, 20 Keke Morabe, 21 Wandile Mlaba, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Wandisile Simelane.
ALL BLACKS – 15 Josh Moorby, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Peter Lakai, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Fabian Holland, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 George Bower.
Bench: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Siale Lauaki, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Caleb Clarke.