Rassie Erasmus's Mentoring Scholarship Elevates Springboks to Greater Levels

A number of triumphs deliver double importance in the lesson they communicate. Amid the flood of weekend international rugby fixtures, it was Saturday night's result in the French capital that will resonate most enduringly across the rugby world. Not just the end result, but equally the manner of victory. To claim that South Africa overturned various comfortable assumptions would be an understatement of the calendar.

Surprising Comeback

So much for the idea, for example, that the French team would avenge the disappointment of their World Cup quarter-final defeat. The belief that entering the final quarter with a narrow lead and an additional player would lead to assumed success. Despite missing their talisman Antoine Dupont, they still had more than enough strategies to restrain the strong rivals safely at bay.

As it turned out, it was a case of counting their poulets too early. After being behind on the scoreboard, the 14-man Boks concluded with scoring 19 unanswered points, reinforcing their status as a team who increasingly reserve their top performance for the most challenging situations. While defeating the All Blacks by a large margin in earlier this year was a statement, this was conclusive proof that the leading international squad are building an greater resilience.

Set-Piece Superiority

In fact, Rassie Erasmus’s experienced front eight are beginning to make everyone else look less committed by juxtaposition. Scotland and England experienced their periods of promise over the two-day period but lacked entirely the same earthmovers that thoroughly overwhelmed the French pack to ruins in the last half-hour. Several up-and-coming young home nation players are developing but, by the end, Saturday night was hommes contre garçons.

Perhaps most impressive was the psychological resilience underpinning it all. In the absence of Lood de Jager – issued a red card in the first half for a high tackle of the French full-back – the Springboks could easily have faltered. As it happened they just united and set about pulling the disheartened boys in blue to what one former French international described as “the hurt locker.”

Guidance and Example

Following the match, having been borne aloft around the Stade de France on the powerful backs of Eben Etzebeth and RG Snyman to mark his hundredth Test, the team leader, Siya Kolisi, once again emphasized how a significant number of his squad have been required to rise above life difficulties and how he wished his side would similarly continue to inspire others.

The ever-sage an analyst also made an perceptive observation on television, suggesting that the coach's achievements progressively make him the rugby coaching equivalent of the legendary football manager. If South Africa manage to win a third successive World Cup there will be complete assurance. In case they fail to achieve it, the clever way in which Erasmus has revitalized a possibly veteran roster has been an exemplary model to other teams.

Emerging Talent

Consider his emerging number 10 the rising star who darted through for the closing score that decisively broke the opposition line. And also the scrum-half, a further backline player with lightning acceleration and an even sharper ability to spot openings. Of course it helps to play behind a dominant set of forwards, with the inside back riding shotgun, but the steady transformation of the Springboks from scowling heavyweights into a side who can also display finesse and strike decisively is hugely impressive.

Glimpses of French Quality

However, it should not be thought that France were completely dominated, in spite of their fading performance. Their winger's additional score in the far side was a clear example. The set-piece strength that engaged the Bok forwards, the superb distribution from the playmaker and the winger's clinical finish into the advertising hoardings all demonstrated the hallmarks of a team with notable skill, even in the absence of their star man.

But even that turned out to be insufficient, which really is a daunting prospect for all other nations. There is no way, for instance, that the Scottish side could have trailed heavily to the Springboks and fought back in the way they did in their fixture. Notwithstanding the English team's late resurgence, there is a distance to travel before the England team can be confident of competing with the South African powerhouses with everything on the line.

European Prospects

Overcoming an developing Fijian side posed difficulties on the weekend although the next encounter against the All Blacks will be the contest that truly shapes their end-of-year series. New Zealand are not invincible, especially missing an influential back in their center, but when it comes to converting pressure into points they continue to be a level above almost all the European sides.

The Scottish team were notably at fault of missing the chance to secure the killing points and uncertainties still hang over England’s optimal back division. It is fine performing in the final quarter – and much preferable than succumbing at the death – but their notable winning sequence this year has so far included just a single victory over world-class sides, a one-point home victory over Les Bleus in February.

Future Prospects

Hence the weight of this coming Saturday. Interpreting the signals it would seem several changes are anticipated in the starting lineup, with key players coming back to the side. In the pack, likewise, first-choice players should all be back from the outset.

Yet perspective matters, in rugby as in reality. In the lead-up to the next global tournament the {rest