springboks chasing the sun 2 The documentary has released three of its five episodes to date, and one of its producers, Rassie Erasmus, features prominently throughout.
Erasmus was officially the “Director of Rugby” during last year's World Cup, but the documentary leaves no doubt about how much control he had over proceedings.
Erasmus' ferocious, ferocious side was also clearly in the spotlight after the Springboks' loss to Ireland in the pool stages, with the manager revealing his team had allowed complacency and even arrogance to creep into their play. I feel it.
“There wasn't enough pain on the players' faces,” he portrayed in episode two. “There wasn't enough regret. There wasn't enough of an expression on their faces that said, 'This is outrageous, we did this.'”
In the final scene of the second episode, in what has been described as a “reality check Monday” after a defeat, Erasmus unleashes a barrage of words in front of a deadly group of quiet players.
The latest episode further sheds light on how he threatened to drop several first-choice players ahead of the quarter-finals, including “big dogs” Siya Kolisi, Eben Ezebeth and Duane Vermeulen.
Rassie Erasmus has shown a desire to shake things up with Springbok team selection
In one revealing video, coach Erasmus tells Bongi Mbonambi to prepare to take on more leadership responsibilities, but specifically omits big names when highlighting players he is confident will feature in the quarter-finals. What it does is worth noting.
“I feel like there's a little bit of ego. I think there are some players who feel like they're more important here,” Erasmus said.
“Your head is bigger than it's capable of. That's always a problem. Bongi [Mbonambi],France [Malherbe]Damien [de Allende]jesse [Kriel]Cheslin [Kolbe]Kurt Lee [Arendse] and R.G. [Snyman], you can start thinking about the quarterfinals. ”
In the end, Erasmus emphasized that key leaders such as Kolisi, Etzebeth and Vermeulen are not on the same page and that their differences are having a negative impact on the team.
“There's no way these three big dogs can't patrol together,” Erasmus said, but it later emerged that he had left the three World Cup winners in the same room to resolve the issue.
honesty and introspection
Around this time, Kolisi also admitted that he began to question his position.
“I was angry and asking myself a lot of questions. My heart dropped,” Kolisi said.
“Shit, I asked myself, am I being arrogant? Am I too big for the team? Is that how everyone sees me? Is that how Coach Rassie sees me?
“Whatever I did wrong, I need to make it right now or it will be too late.”
In the end, the Springboks put in a spirited performance in their final pool game against Tonga, with Kolisi, Etzebeth and Vermeulen all doing well enough to earn selection as the team heads into the play-off stages.
