SPRINGBOK flank Pieter-Steph du Toit says his national coach Rassie Erasmus “understands the game” of rugby and that is why he is so successful.
Yes, many claim to know the oval ball and there are many who think they could do better from the comfort of their couches on a Saturday afternoon, but anyone with some sort of rugby brain will admit that Erasmus is special.
Du Toit is no different and tells SportsBoom in an exclusive interview: “Rassie understands the game. I wouldn’t say just being a forward… he played the game in the past. He understands what works and what doesn’t work.
“And of course, the way he looks at the game is completely different than anyone else looks at the game.
“And it’s quite exciting to play [under] him, and we’re fortunate to have him in the system at the moment. And that’s the thing about Rassie. It's all about innovation.
“It’s coming up with ways to kind of outsmart the opposition.”
One of those ways to outsmart the opposition was Erasmus’ decision to implement the Boks’ controversial “Bomb Squad”, where he basically sends out an entire new pack of forwards shortly after halftime.
Asked if it is a particular strength of the national team, Du Toit says: “Definitely for the Springbok squad, it’s the strength of us.
“We’ve got really good depth in the side, so we’re quite fortunate about that, and as a player, you're fortunate because you get a lot of game time as well, and you get an opportunity to prove yourself. So for us, it’s the strength of us, and we’re definitely going to build on it.”
Du Toit highlights Erasmus’s ability to think outside the box as one of the key reasons why he is called a rugby genius, saying: “Like you can see, when he started coaching, he always thought outside the box.
“He thinks outside the box with his plans and always comes from some different side.
“That’s a really good thing, and especially to take that into internationals, like we don’t get boxed in, and the stress gets to you. And sometimes you just look out in front of you.
“And what he does well is you put yourself outside the box and look outside the box. So that’s definitely a strength of him and the Springboks.”
Erasmus and his management team are already making plannetjies for the first Test of the year against Italy in Pretoria in July.