Rassie Erasmus' 'frantic' verdict on Dave Rennie’s new-look All Blacks
SPOTLIGHT: The Springboks might well be in the middle of the inaugural Nations Championship, but head coach Rassie Erasmus already has his gaze fixed on The Greatest Rivalry against New Zealand.
Erasmus has made it clear that his team’s objective for the Nations Championship is to win every Test, build squad depth, and get answers on several players ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia.
However, as many have come to expect from Erasmus, nothing he does is coincidental, and every decision forms part of a well-thought-out plan.
Erasmus will already have an idea of who he will play against the All Blacks in the opening Test of The Greatest Rivalry at Ellis Park in August.
He’ll be putting together pieces of the puzzle and is also expecting some high-profile names to return from injury in time for the historic series.
This past weekend gave him an indication of the type of All Blacks team to expect when they arrive on South African shores next month.
This is after the All Blacks opened their Nations Championship campaign with a 34-32 victory against France in Christchurch.
It was Dave Rennie’s first outing in the All Blacks coaching box since taking over from Scott Robertson, and it was a performance that caught the eye of the Bok coach.
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“It was exciting to watch,” Erasmus said.
“We want the Southern Hemisphere teams to beat the Northern Hemisphere teams; it’s just always been like that.
“I think most of us are like that, but then you see that we’re in the same log; maybe they must lose because there are two pools. That was the mindset shift we had to make.”
The All Blacks were far from perfect against France but showed glimpses of improvement since their last outing against England in 2025.
They played with intent, kicked less, and had quick ball from the base of the ruck with Cam Roigard and Ruben Love leading the attack.
Erasmus, without negatively criticising, described the match as ‘frantic’.
“For me, the one overwhelming feeling from that game, and this is not to criticise, it’s when a team got into the 22, you thought the other team was going to score.
“And then when the All Blacks got into their 22, you thought they were going to score.
“It just looked frantic but not in a bad way. It was busy, exciting, and dynamic.
“I thought it was a really high-intensity game where both teams ran each other off their feet, which was great to watch.
“I thought it was high-intensity with lots of guys that have X-factor and those things.”
After the match, Rennie was quick to admit that they still have plenty to work on and improve.
However, it was a performance that suggested The Greatest Rivalry will be fiercely contested and far from the straightforward task many had anticipated for the Springboks.
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