{"id":23452,"date":"2025-08-18T10:43:36","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T08:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=23452"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:01:22","slug":"springboks-lose-world-no-1-ranking-as-erasmus-takes-the-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/springboks-lose-world-no-1-ranking-as-erasmus-takes-the-heat\/","title":{"rendered":"Springboks Lose World No.1 Ranking as Erasmus Takes the Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Springboks\u2019 opening Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park will be remembered as a game of extremes. After racing to a 22-point lead inside the first 20 minutes, South Africa appeared to have stamped their authority early. Yet, instead of tightening their grip, the Boks drifted into loose, exhibition-style rugby and surrendered 38 unanswered points as the Wallabies stormed back to claim a famous victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The defeat not only stunned the home crowd but also cost the Boks their world No.1 ranking, with New Zealand leapfrogging them following their win over Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-erasmus-holds-his-hands-up\">Erasmus Holds His Hands Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Head coach Rassie Erasmus fronted a difficult post-match press conference, conceding that his team lost their way after a dazzling opening spell. He admitted the Boks strayed from their trademark formula of physical dominance, tactical kicking, and set-piece pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is probably one of the most embarrassing press conferences I\u2019ve done in a while,\u201d Erasmus said. \u201cWe gave them a few soft tries \u2013 an intercept from Manie Libbok, a loose pass from Andr\u00e9 Esterhuizen \u2013 and suddenly they were back in the game. From there, they just got stronger and stronger, and physically outmuscled us, which should never happen at altitude.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"South Africa v Australia | Match Highlights | The Castle Lager Rugby Championship 2025\" width=\"755\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gwzSPXIKWW0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2884537297\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-wallabies-outplay-the-boks\">Wallabies Outplay the Boks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Erasmus credited Joe Schmidt\u2019s Wallabies for their discipline and execution, noting their superior kicking and patience. \u201cTheir kick-to-ruck ratio was excellent,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe only kicked nine times in the second half. Maybe the players thought there was space, but that\u2019s coaching \u2013 we have to build pressure and not just play sevens-style rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that the team failed to manage the game after the early fireworks from Grant Williams, Libbok and Edwill van der Merwe. \u201cTwenty-two nil is not winning a game \u2013 you still have to close it out. In the end, we didn\u2019t even fight back to deny them a bonus point, and that\u2019s probably the most disappointing part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-taking-the-blame-not-shifting-it\">Taking the Blame, Not Shifting It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Erasmus was quick to shoulder the responsibility, stressing that the coaching staff must first review their own role in the collapse. \u201cWe have to look at ourselves before pointing fingers at the players. A player doesn\u2019t just do what he wants out there \u2013 we guide them, we pick the combinations. If it doesn\u2019t work, that\u2019s on us. Maybe the plans were wrong, maybe the half-time talk was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Acknowledging the raw frustration of the result, Erasmus admitted bluntly: \u201cI can dress this up respectfully, but the truth is we were really poor on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"&quot;We were dogsh*t today&quot; Rassie Erasmus reacts to DEFEAT to Wallabies | Springboks Press Conference\" width=\"755\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LdxOYkNt4Y8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2179263386\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-changes-on-the-horizon\">Changes on the Horizon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the return Test against the Wallabies scheduled in Cape Town next weekend, <a href=\"https:\/\/iol.co.za\/sport\/rugby\/springboks\/2025-08-17-we-were-dog-s-on-the-day-says-embarrassed-springbok-coach-erasmus-after-wallabies-disaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erasmus hinted<\/a> at changes to the matchday squad. \u201cWe had already picked next week\u2019s team, but that will probably change,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to bring Ethan Hooker in, give Canan Moodie a start, and also Morne van den Berg. We\u2019ll have to rethink a few things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-wake-up-call-for-the-boks\">A Wake-Up Call for the Boks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The loss has delivered an early shock to South Africa\u2019s Rugby Championship campaign, serving as a reminder that flair must always be balanced with the hard-nosed fundamentals that underpin Springbok rugby. For Erasmus and his squad, the challenge now is not only to bounce back in Cape Town but also to prove that the Ellis Park collapse was an aberration, not a trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/triple-blow-proteas-springboks-and-du-plessis-all-suffer-defeat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Triple Blow: Proteas, Springboks and Du Plessis All Suffer Defeat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Springboks\u2019 opening Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park will be remembered as a game of extremes. After racing to a 22-point lead inside the first 20 minutes, South Africa appeared to have stamped their authority early. Yet, instead of tightening their grip, the Boks drifted into loose, exhibition-style rugby and surrendered 38 unanswered points<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"The Springboks\u2019 opening Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park will be remembered as a game of extremes. After racing to a 22-point lead inside the first 20...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[3174,1341,873,10695],"class_list":{"0":"post-23452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-rugby-championship","10":"tag-rugby-news","11":"tag-springboks","12":"tag-wallabies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23457,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23452\/revisions\/23457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}