'It's all about the scoreboard': Rassie downplays Boks' superiority over All Blacks
REACTION: Rassie Erasmus rubbished any notion that the Springboks were the better team during the Greatest Rivalry series despite claiming the trophy in Baltimore on Saturday.
Following their opening loss to the All Blacks at Ellis Park, the Boks claimed three consecutive victories over New Zealand to clinch the series 3-1 at M&T Stadium in the USA.
*Also read: Boks trump All Blacks to clinch Greatest Rivalry series trophy
Despite the latest piece of silverware, Erasmus was gracious in victory and dismissed the notion that the Boks were the superior team in the series.
“No, I won’t say we were the better team. At minute 60 I thought it was still in the balance,” Erasmus said.
“We came out the winners because we had more points on the board. That’s probably the most important thing in most of the games.
“Although you have different things that you’re trying to build your game on and get your attack better and defence better, it’s all about the scoreboard.
“Up until the last 11 minutes I wasn’t sure if we were going to win. We appreciate that we won, but we definitely don’t think the gap between us and New Zealand is this big.”
Continues below…
Erasmus rang the changes during the Nations Championship, but kept it to a minimum in the RGR series.
The Bok boss explained his reasoning behind his selection approach thus far during this season.
“I know some people criticise us or do not 100 percent understand when we, in some games, change the team by 12, by 11 or 13 players for the next game.
“And in most of them it’s a calculated risk. But the team that played today had an average age of 31. So it’s not a young team.
“Not to say we’re clever, or we do it the right way, but our experience from playing a series against a team like the British & Irish Lions or a World Cup, you have to have the guys that you know are experienced and they can still manage the pace of the game.
“But then that’s what we’ve tried to do for the last four or five years, is chopping and changing teams.
“Sometimes we get a lot of flak for that, and we lose the odd game. But then as the young guys come in, it’s not their first time.
“And then they play next to an older guy, who maybe is not as fast anymore, maybe not as energetic anymore, but has a calm head.
“Then you’ve got the youngster that you’re bringing in. There’s always been the thought process behind that.
“It’s not for us to make the jersey cheap or just give caps away. That’s the way we try and do it.
“And again, in the 4 [RGR] Test matches, there weren’t a lot of changes. So sometimes we get it right, sometimes wrong. But I think the way older guys help the younger guys and they pull them up and push them down to not make it, they all want to make it.
“So now there’s certainly six or seven of these guys; if we play a Test match tomorrow, some of the older guys, they wouldn’t have been able to play next week. Their bodies are just too tired. So we try and get that balance right.
The Boks will play one more Test after this series win against Australia before heading into a break ahead of the second leg of the Nations Championship in Europe.
Register your interest to receive priority updates on RWC27 ticket releases. Don't miss out, stay in the loop!
