“Easier to prepare for All Blacks than Wallabies” says Erasmus

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus, while saying Saturday is a must win for the side, has stated that it is easier to prepare as underdogs to face the All Blacks than it is to prepare for the Wallabies.

The Springboks face the All Blacks in Wellington this weekend following two consecutive losses (to Argentina and then Australia) in this year’s Rugby Championship.

Speaking to Stuff NZ ahead of Saturday, Erasmus said “Probably just for me to survive it’s very important (that we win), but that’s totally beside the point, for me to survive.”

“If we can beat the All Blacks here then everybody will think we have a realistic chance of winning the World Cup next year and if we do really well here people would say there’s growth. But if we do really bad here then I will probably not be in the seat for the next couple of matches and somebody else will probably be there.”

In preparation for the clash, Erasmus stated:

“I think it’s much easier to go and play against the All Blacks, not because they’re an easy team,” he said after Saturday’s defeat.

“I think you’re just so much the underdogs by far that people don’t expect you to get into the mix at all. It’s just an easy game to go and prepare.”

The Springboks have now lost eight matches in a row to the All Blacks, most notably a 57-0 drilling last year. However the last time the teams met in Wellington (2014) the Boks went down by only four points in a gruelling 14-10 encounter.