When Rassie Erasmus does something out of the ordinary it is usually for a reason, so his surprising decision to put the team doctor up to face the press on Tuesday was no doubt a calculated move. The message was clear, and has been since full-time against Scotland: the Springboks are fresh. And they evidently want everyone to know it.
Equally, you suspect they are not very happy about having a six-day turnaround before facing England. New Zealand made light work of theirs last week but as the all-conquering back-to-back world champions, perhaps it is necessary to engineer perceived slights against yourselves.
Nonetheless, the beauty of the Bomb Squad, according to the backroom staff, is that it allows Erasmus’s army of hulking forwards enough rest to reload and go again at Twickenham. They stressed that allowing themselves to be distracted by revisiting the fallout from the 2023 World Cup semi-final – a less likely proposition now Tom Curry has been ruled out – is a sure-fire way to “embarrass themselves” and were only complimentary about England’s approach back then, which pushed the Boks so close in the Parisian rain.
Is there tiredness in camp Erasmus wants to hide? More likely the head coach knows the concept of the Bomb Squad is not universally well received in these parts and he wants to give off an impression of strength. A mild flex of the biceps then, after selecting a 7-1 split on the bench in their victory over Scotland last Sunday, and a hint of frustration they have one less day to prepare than England.
Asked about what this week looks like – a question you always had a feeling was coming – the Springboks team physician, Jerome Mampane, said: “We did quite well . We came out of [the Scotland match] quite unscathed.
“The theme we were looking at was a lot of freshness. Freshness of players and freshness around the 7-1 split. We were targeting good freshness and maybe from my perspective that’s what the coaches planned. I think we achieved that.
“There’s a tactical aspect to [the 7-1 split]. That’s more the coach’s forte, but you play less minutes or you’re on the field for less time, you are probably a lot fresher the next week.”
The attack coach, Tony Brown, continued the theme, pointing to how all four Rugby Championship nations will experience a shorter turnaround this autumn. The New Zealander said: “It’s always tough. You lose a training day, the players lose a recovery day, so getting that balance right is important.
“All the southern hemisphere teams are having to deal with that on this tour. We’ve learned from what the All Blacks have done going from Ireland to England. We’re learning along the way to make sure we’re mentally and physically at our best on Saturday.”
Given England’s run of form, the Springboks – who have returned to the summit of the world rankings – are clear favourites and as a result there is little to be gained by revisiting the toxic fallout from South Africa’s 16-15 victory last October. “If we get into that it is going to take us away from the actual Test match,” said the former Northampton scrum-half Cobus Reinach. “We need to focus on what is coming on Saturday and how to put our plan on the field. If we lose sight of what we want to do we might be embarrassed or not happy with our performance.
“We were all very direct with what we wanted to achieve in that game [last year]. We knew what the French game took out of us, how difficult it was going to be with their Moneyball way of playing, the weather was going to be bad. The pressure was on from the start and we had to deal with it.”
Whether England revert to Moneyball type or stick by their more expansive approach the Boks are on red alert when it comes to Marcus Smith, which adds to the burden of Jerry Flannery, their defence coach who knows the fly-half well from his time at Harlequins.
“He’s a class player,” said Brown. “Given time and space there’s not too many better at making the most of little opportunities for all the players around him. Jerry has had a lot of time with Marcus Smith. He’ll be under a little bit of pressure to make sure Marcus doesn’t get those opportunities this week.”
