'You don't sleep well': Rassie opens up on public pressure

SPOTLIGHT: Head coach Rassie Erasmus expressed his feelings on the Springboks’ blockbuster 2025 season and the goals he has set out to achieve with the younger players in the squad.

He spoke about the public pressure and how it’s changed for the squad since 2019, as the team is building towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

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“One gets nervous, and some evenings you don’t sleep well.

“I’m very realistic, I know how quickly things can change.

“The pressure we experience now is that the public is behind us.

“If the public finds fault, we’ll look into it. Maybe some of them are right.”

Erasmus added: “We had pressure as underdogs, no chancers, favourites and playing the British and Irish Lions without crowds – I’m not saying you get used to it.

“This year will be one of our toughest seasons ever, and I want us to win those 15 games and put some guys in that pressure cooker and see what comes out.

“It’s nerve-wracking, but a more exciting nerve-wracking feeling than a nervous one.”