Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has addressed the press three times since the team's loss to the All Blacks on Saturday evening. Erasmus has never shied away from public scrutiny, and after the Springboks lost to the All Blacks 33–16 at Ellis Park stadium, the head coach once again put himself in the spotlight.
Speaking to journalists for the third time on Tuesday following the final whistle in Johannesburg, Erasmus deliberately stepped forward to defend his team. He insisted that the primary responsibility for the game's collapse in the second half in Johannesburg lies with the coaching staff, not the players on the field.
Erasmus explained: 'I am not just covering for them; I am taking responsibility for some of the decisions we made.' He added: 'The truth is that many things we asked of them, they delivered. The plan did not win us the game, but certainly the players did not lose the game. I do not want the players sitting around explaining why we lost if it was more dependent on me than on them. I am just trying to be honest.'
Despite injuries to three backline players—Kurt-Lee Arendse, Grant Williams, and Cheslin Kolbe—disrupting the Springboks' performance and being unforeseen, Erasmus blamed himself for the lack of a contingency plan for such a catastrophe. A premature concussion suffered by winger Arendse forced an immediate change in defensive alignment, moving key defender Jesse Kriel aside and advancing Andre Esterhuizen into midfield. When Kolbe and Williams also sustained injuries, the Boks' tactical system faltered.
'I think this game was largely lost due to decisions I made during the week,' admitted Erasmus. 'For the first time in a long time, we were caught off guard by Kurt-Lee's early injury. Our on-site planning let us down, and we were not prepared enough for our backline compression scheme, without considering what would happen if Kurt-Lee got injured in the first five minutes.' He continued: 'Suddenly everyone is playing out of position, and that is not the players' fault. It is because of our planning. The plans we developed were done together as a coaching team.'
Taking on public responsibility also serves a practical purpose for Erasmus: freeing up his management staff so they can focus exclusively on addressing critical issues before the second match at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday. Since a four-match series is at stake, and South Africa trails 1–0, Erasmus noted that taking on media duties allows his assistant coaches to work unimpeded on correcting mistakes made at Ellis Park.
'When you have assistant coaches who now need to focus on fixing out-of-bounds lines, mauls, and ball retention, you don't want them thinking about what to say in the media,' stated Erasmus. 'That takes another half hour. Thus, they can simply focus on training.'
Acknowledging the pressure before a decisive match against the new world number one team, Erasmus emphasized that the team's determination to respond was evident in training. Nevertheless, he firmly believes that the tactical burden rests entirely on him.