Scotland not underdogs against Springboks, says Rassie

The Springboks must fire on all cylinders if they want to overcome a powerful Scotland side who will be expertly prepared for battle by coach Gregor Townsend, SA’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, says.

The countdown clock is ticking towards SA’s World Cup opener against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, and Erasmus is expecting a titanic battle (kickoff 5.45pm).

Erasmus said his time at Munster gives him insight into Townsend’s tactics, because of their frequent tactical duels at club level in Europe.

“I don’t think a lot of people know that when myself and Jacques Nienaber were at Munster we coached against Gregor when he was at Glasgow and there were four games in one year,” he said.

“There is a close tie and Gregor is really a class coach who always has good plans. He is a coach who supports players with ball in hand and what people call ‘play what you see’.

“So there is always a threat with a flyhalf like Finn Russell. There is a close connection with defence coach Steve Tandy and we coached against him when he was at the Ospreys.

“Then there is also scrum coach Pieter de Villiers, who is a South African. There are also a lot of SA players in the Scottish team and they know our players well.

“All in all, I don’t know why people want to make the one team a favourite and the other an underdog. I don’t think it really changes anything. The way Scotland have been building towards this, and when I look at their squad, they have an average age of about 28 and about 38 Test matches per player.

“So that is a lekker squad. We will have to be firing on all cylinders to make sure we get through this one.”

Erasmus said he has not paid attention to the fuss over SA’s decision to employ a 7-1 bench split in favour of the forwards when they beat the All Blacks in London. After utility back Willie le Roux was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury, loose forward Kwagga Smith was included among the substitutes.

“We have been in a bit of a bubble because we are focusing on what we are trying to do and how we can be successful at the World Cup,” Erasmus said.

“We can’t really care about how other teams are doing it and what their opinions are. We are just staying within the regulations and the laws of the game.

“So for us, it’s about what’s best for our team, what works for us and that certainly won’t be the same from one weekend to the next. We don’t really care about what other teams say about it. It’s about what’s best for SA and the Springboks.

“If it was something that we did wrong, that would have ... bothered me. We follow all the laws and protocols.

“When I was playing, we only had two reserves. Then it became 22 and then 23 with a full front row [on the bench].

“I guess what I am trying to say, not being arrogant, is that it wouldn’t help us to take note of all of the hoo-ha, because we didn’t do anything wrong. I am not surprised. It’s new and people like to chat about that, but I’m not really bothered.”

The Boks arrived at their camp in Toulon on Sunday from Corsica and started with their on-field preparations on Monday.