The four-match series is finely poised at 1-1, with Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry seemingly reaching new heights of tension as Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie’s war of words escalates. Picture the scene: The touring All Blacks win the opening Test with a 33-16 at Ellis Park. Then, the Springboks hit back with a thrilling 33-26 victory over New Zealand in Cape Town.
Named in the front row for the Springboks for that contest were Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw. Just one hour before kick-off, that was changed to Gerhard Steenekamp, Deon Fourie and Thomas du Toit with the original three dropping to the bench. Erasmus said this was down to conditions and a chance of rain not materialising.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "We thought it was going to be wet and that's why we picked the front row, Erasmus said after the match. "The whole weather prediction, the whole week, was it was going to be wet." On this matter, Rennie refused to criticise. "We stuck with the team we named and it doesn't worry me at all," Rennie said on the matter.
"They named their team on Monday. That had no bearing on the team that we named. So, yeah - no drama from my perspective." It is important to note that, under World Rugby regulations, medical dispensation is usually required for a team to be permitted to be make changes within 48 hours of the game kicking-off.
However, with Rugby's Greatest Rivalry independently administered, Erasmus can chop and change as much as he pleases. In total, Erasmus made five changes from the squad he named on Monday for the second Test, including a complete change to the front row. During the week, Handre Pollard went from fit to injured and was eventually withdrawn, while Cheslin Kolbe went from injured to fit and was ultimately named on the wing.
That is why he is keeping it under his hat ahead of the third Test in Johannesburg - if conditions require it, of course. "If it's clear and dry this will be the team that's starting, but if it rains we might make a change or two," Erasmus said. While there have been no real arguments over late changes, with diplomacy reigning supreme, one issue that has erupted is a disagreement over scrums.
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