Ellis Park collapse gives the Erasmus-era Boks two choices — fade away or rise again

Rassie Erasmus smiled through the obligatory media conference following the Springboks’ 38-22 loss to the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park.

It wasn’t a smile emitting any warmth. It was a nervous reaction to complete embarrassment laced with confusion. He was like a passenger after a car accident, trying to make sense of the wreck.

After a lengthy mea culpa, in which he blamed himself, the other coaches, the tactics and even the players – “there was a stage where I felt our heads were dropping and our shoulders were slumping”.  

Erasmus eventually resorted to plain language: “We were dogshit on the day.”

That was perhaps inaccurate. Because the Boks were anything but “dogshit” for the first 20 minutes. If the game had been stopped just before Australia’s opening try in the 29th minute, the story would have been about one of the greatest performances in history.

From Kurt-Lee Arendse’s opening try, which went through multiple phases and was scored with only 1:33 on the clock, to Siya Kolisi’s 18th-minute try, which gave them a 22-0 lead, the Boks have seldom played better.

The foundation of brute strength and contact dominance was there, laced with bold attacking flair and accuracy. It was sensational. Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt admitted he and his team were helpless.

“When they were accurate, like you saw that first 20 minutes, we were in trouble with wave after wave coming. It was impressive.”

But rugby games are not played over 20 minutes. The Boks lost control, especially after halftime, and the Wallabies, through their own composure and resilience, secured a win for the ages.

Losing is one thing. Conceding six tries and 38 unanswered points against a team that has struggled for several years, at a venue where the Boks usually thrive, is what is so staggering.

That’s why Erasmus looked dazed. An hour after the final whistle, he was unable to make sense of it.

There are cases of teams overcoming heavy deficits to eke out a win. But how many have overcome such a heavy margin and gone on to win by miles? Answers welcome.

In many ways, it was the weirdest game of rugby in memory due to the complete dominance by both teams at different stages of the game.

Soul searching

Some of the reasons for the collapsing performance were partially obvious to all who watched – the lineout malfunctioned, the Boks lost the breakdown battle after the first quarter, and they abandoned their kicking game.

Essentially, after such a great start, they played too much rugby and moved away from the guiding principles of their game plan – command set pieces, play for field position, dominate contact and defend tightly.

The reasons are visible, but the nagging, serious question is, why did it happen?

What led to such an implosion – the Wallabies must take some of the credit for creating problems – and how can it be remedied?

There is a growing sense of hubris in this Bok team. It might be a function of years of success, which was heightened by such a blistering opening quarter.

The sight of the Boks attempting one of those midfield lineout mauls late in the game bordered on pathetic, considering they were 11 points behind with only minutes remaining on the clock.

Innovation has been one of their trademarks in the Erasmus era, and much of it has paid off. At the right moment, in the right circumstances, their innovation has taken rugby forward. But producing trick plays for the sake of it, when the game was gone, looked arrogant.

This isn’t the first time it’s happened this season, either. The Boks led Italy 28-3 at halftime in Pretoria but “lost” the second half 21-14. Against Georgia, despite winning 55-10, the Boks needed until late in the game to break free.

“It’s very concerning, and it’s something we have to fix,” Erasmus said in response to the ‘soft’ periods in Tests. “You know, we lost a few lineouts with some bad throws, sometimes bad timing, and sometimes the wrong call.

“We had three weeks to prepare for the game. I can sit here and give excuses, but I must point the finger straight at me, because I really thought we were well prepared for this game.

“A player doesn’t go and play by his own devices and just do what he wants to do. We (the coaches) guide them and select the team. Maybe combinations were wrong, maybe plans were wrong, and maybe the halftime talk was terrible.”

Positives

It’s a single loss – albeit a staggering one – so how the Boks bounce back in Cape Town for the return clash against the Wallabies will be telling.

Can they produce 80 minutes of the controlled rugby that made them the best team in the world? Because if you take that opening 20 minutes in isolation, potentially the Boks are on the brink of a sensational attacking transformation.

Had they scored additional tries late in the first half and early in the second half when they came within a metre of the Wallaby line, would there be so much navel gazing?

“We probably got a little bit lucky,” Schmidt admitted afterwards. “Even when André (Esterhuizen) went down the left-hand touch a couple of times, one of the times, there was a loose pass, and Tom Wright went 70 metres and scored at the other end.

“So, we’re realistic about how we had to hang in there, but I’m really proud of the way we did.”

The controlled blitz in the opening quarter was unlike anything Bok followers have seen.

There were many problems relating to game management and attitude in the face of Australia’s commendable fightback, but there was also much to admire in the Bok performance.

The issue appears to be marrying the new attacking intent and structure with a more conservative approach. Essentially, balancing their tactical approach is problematic.

Manie Libbok remains a key player in unleashing the Boks’ attack, but he failed to recognise a shift in momentum and therefore change tack. He needed to be the general that said, ‘Right, now we’re playing for territory, slowing things down.’

The senior leadership on the field, once Siya Kolisi departed with a knee injury, also needs to look in the mirror.

Where were Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth and Jesse Kriel to acknowledge the game situation and problem-solve in real time?

It was a chastening loss and an early wake-up call for the rest of the 2025 Rugby Championship as well as for Rugby World Cup 2027.

Whether this loss and overall performance is viewed in future as a game that ended the dominance of the Erasmus-era Boks, or as the moment that set them on a new path of success, is up to them. DM