It is a case of ‘uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’ for the world champion Springboks and Rassie Erasmus will be glued to this weekend’s Six Nations matches to gain information on some of his chief adversaries.
At the beginning of the 2024 season, the Bok coach said, “We have a target on our backs, everyone wants to knock us off our perch. If we don’t evolve and stay ahead of the pack we will be history.”
The Boks did morph significantly last year thanks to the attacking prowess of Kiwi coach Tony Brown and the defensive nous of Irishman Jerry Flannery.
The nimble feet of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse were gainfully employed — no longer were they slaves to the tyranny of the box kick — and the Boks scored more tries than any Bok side since Nick Mallett’s vintage of 1998.
The Boks won 11 of 13 matches, with a one-point loss by an experimental team to the Pumas in Argentina and a one-point loss in Durban to Ireland.
But that was last year and Erasmus has to keep fine-tuning.
Given that little Test rugby will be played in 2027 ahead of the World Cup in Australia, he has this year and 2026 to cut veterans who won’t make it and weld a new-look side into a purring machine.
The Bok coach also has to keep on top of emerging trends, which is why he will be such a keen student of the Six Nations.
He would have gone to school on how France dealt with Wales last night in Paris.
New Zealand, Ireland, and the French are shaping to be the chief pretenders to the Springbok throne and Erasmus will run a fine toothcomb through their match strategies.
Ireland host England in the pick of the weekend’s fixtures. It will be an intriguing match between a home side under assistant Simon Easterby's leadership — head coach Andy Farrell has been seconded to the British and Irish Lions before they visit Australia later this year —and an England team under enormous pressure to deliver.
Will Ireland be the same beast without the charismatic influence of Farrell? Will the bubble of their aging side burst?
England have been building under Steve Borthwick since Eddie Jones was fired just after the 2023 World Cup.
They were a surprise package in that tournament and almost beat the Boks in the semi-finals.
That word “almost” has defined England ever since. They have almost beaten all the top sides in the world but have a knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
They don’t know how to close out games and this is something that can be coached, and Borthwick knows he is culpable.
So far he has failed and is in the Last Chance Saloon. My opinion is that England will be the surprise package of the Six Nations.
Borthwick has picked a side based entirely on Premiership form rather than reputation; he has changed his captain — Maro Itoje takes over from James George; and he has an adventurous halfback combination in Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell.
Erasmus will also have the Scotland-Italy game under the microscope (also this afternoon) and by the end of the three matches, he will have plenty of food for thought.