VIDEO: Be great at playing, not collecting twitter followers
WATCH as Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus speaks about ending a 10-year trophy drought and how it was achieved.
‘Ownership’ has been the buzzword since South Africa became Rugby Championship winners ate the weekend.
In short, as Erasmus pointed out, it is about the on-field form – not what your fan base thinks about you.
“When things go wrong, it is the coaches or administrators who take the flak,” Erasmus told a media gathering in Johannesburg – after the Boks returned from Salta with the Rugby Championship trophy on display.
He pointed out nothing has changed in the boardroom – the same CEO, President and administrators that are running the game.
However, it is the players that must get credit.
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“Nothing has changed at the top, but the players are performing,” the coach said.
“The big change from the players are taking ownership.
“It is great to be a good public speaker and have a lot of twitter followers, but that is not the main issue.
“The most important aspect is to take ownership of your main job, which is playing rugby.”
He said they are not close to where they want to be.
“They [the players] are hungry to be successful,” he said, adding that the main goal remains winning the World Cup.
He suggested the players know what is required of them to make the World Cup cut, but said he is “not 100 percent sure” what the make-up of the squad is.
“It is a tough decision,” Erasmus said, adding: “In some positions, the boys are pushing hard.”
The World Cup squad will be named on August 26.
Erasmus said it is an important game to win their warm-up game against Argentina at Loftus Versfeld this coming Saturday.
He said they are going to work on starting better and not concede early points in the game.
“It is great that the players don’t panic and work their way back into the game, but in the World Cup it [giving up an early lead] can bite you, as the pressure will be more.”
“This is a very important week for us and I’m really excited about what we plan to do,” Erasmus said.
“We’re determined to build on the momentum we’ve produced over the past few weekends and we’re really looking forward to ticking a few more boxes before we leave for Japan.”
@rugby365com
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