Rassie decodes Springboks' warrior spirit
WATCH as Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus explains in detail what the Springbok warrior spirit entails.
Erasmus starts off by reciting a poem that describes the different kinds of players one gets in every team, before delving into the one stand-out type of player – The Warrior.
He compares the likes of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis in stature to Springboks such as Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager followed by a comparison to their teammate Cheslin Kolbe, who’s much smaller.
” When he [Dricus] stood next to Eben and Lood, he looked really, really small,” Erasmus said in the video on Springboks’ official X account.
“Then you put Cheslin next to Dricus du Plessis and then Cheslin is unbelievably small compared to Dricus.”
He followed up by talking about coaching players of different shapes and sizes and what each of them brings to the game as a collective unit.
“Being able to coach all shapes and sizes, that brings in scrums which some people like – we as South Africans like it”
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Erasmus spoke about the big players who grew up on farms and relish scrummaging and then mentioned the smaller players who don’t stand back to bigger opponents.
“Then we’ve got unbelievable small little guys but who man up to the bigger guys – I don’t think Cheslin Kolbe has ever been run over by a massive guy, same with Kurt-Lee [Arensde] so that’s where the heart comes in.”
He explained in not so many words that the game isn’t just about brute strength and speed and why different types of players are required to build a successful team – making a comparison to bodybuilders.
“I think we can just go and get the fastest, biggest bodybuilders if there’s no skills and fundamentals and savvy and game understanding and ball sense and feel for the game and creativity.”
He states that rugby is about trust and emphasises the dangers of the sport and how the trust element is needed between teammates and how to work together as a team and for each other.
” It’s a collision sport, it’s sometimes really dangerous to go into a scrum or tackle a big guy and you really have to have trust.”
Erasmus concluded: “If you pound for pound give everything, hopefully, that’s what shines out when we’re there on the field.”
