RASSIE ERASMUS IS doing his party piece of listing out the team that South Africa are expecting to face this weekend.
Sometimes he does it on X. Sometimes he does it in person, as is the case today.
This is an hour before Ireland actually publicly name their team.
Erasmus forgets Tommy O’Brien’s name, but insists that he’s hugely impressed with the Leinster wing. He seems to get Caelan Doris and Jack Conan mixed up at one stage, but he’s basically on the money with his forecast.
One of the positions he doesn’t initially mention is out-half, so he has to be prompted to predict who will be in Ireland’s number 10 shirt on Saturday.
“I think Prendergast,” says Erasmus.
“I know Crowley will be on the bench or the other way around. But whichever one comes on, then the other one seems to play better than the one who started. So it was quite tough for us to prepare, because both of them are class.”
Erasmus is full of praise for 22-year-old Sam Prendergast, who has retained his spot.
“He’s a big fellow, it looks like he always wants the ball in his hands, and he’s got guts,” says Erasmus.
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“I saw the kick he kicked last weekend when he found that Jorgensen was napping there at the back.
“I think people are talking about his tackling, that there’s maybe a weakness there, but I’ve seen him go really hard and he’s a big boy, and he looks pretty fit.
“I read a bit about his background, I think he’s got a toughness about him.”
Ireland out-half Sam Prendergast. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Whether it’s team predictions or hitting out at his critics, Erasmus often has a glint in his eye at these press conferences.
Given his history in Munster, it’s never dull when he comes up against Ireland.
He insists, though, that there is nothing personal about this weekend’s match-up and that it’s all about the Springboks’ collective effort.
“I’ve always noticed it’s nice and spicy when people can build it up as this thing between me and Ireland,” says Erasmus.
“I think if you talk to most of the Irish coaches and people – maybe not the pundits so much, I don’t think they enjoy me so much – but I think if you talk to the players, I’ve got no two ways about it that the things I learned here in Ireland was something that ‘I want to take this back to South Africa’, and I think I’ve been quoted many times on that.
“I can’t say that it’s personal. It’s more the respect that I’ve learned here for the discipline and how they do things and the precision farming they do here with a lot of players.
“It’s something we envy, and I really try to get that also right in South Africa, and it’s more if we get a win here, then it means our South African set-up, our players, our coaching team, we got it right eventually.”
The South Africans have lost four of their last five games against Ireland.
The most recent Springboks win in Dublin was back in 2012, so they’re certainly on a mission.
“I’m not going to lie to you and say it doesn’t come up,” says Erasmus of that record.
“I did win here as a player but that was many years ago. I haven’t won at the Aviva as a coach, even with Munster.
“So it’s almost as if you want to fix something that has never been done.
“No, it’s not revenge. It’s a nice competitive environment with a team that’s always been the last two years in the top one to four in the world, and it’s excitement where there’s something we haven’t done. And let’s go and try and do it.”
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in Dublin this week. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Erasmus is looking forward to seeing how his own young out-half, 23-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, performs against this Irish team.
Prendergast and Feinberg-Mngomezulu previously played against each other at international level when the Ireland U20s met the South Africa U20s in 2022. The Baby Boks won that one.
As with Prendergast, the higher potential of Feinberg-Mngomezulu was evident from early on. Having broken through with the Stormers, he made his senior Test debut against Wales in the summer of 2024.
His second and third caps came off the bench against Ireland, when he showed more of his promise.
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And this year, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has taken over from Handré Pollard as the Springboks’ starting out-half, delivering some brilliant performances from their number 10 shirt. Manie Libbok backs him up from the bench this weekend.
“Handré understands that at 31, you know with Johnny [Sexton], he played until he was 38, so Handré knows there is another World Cup in him and I think he understands that we want to learn lessons from Sacha.
“Playing in France under pressure, that is a different thing. Playing on Saturday with Zombie playing, that is a different pressure.
“I don’t know if you have a word in English like snotklap, but it is like a slap in the face and makes you think, ‘Oh, this is a different level,’ and that is going to happen at some point to him.
“Then he must handle that and we must still try to get him through all the different stages of intensity.”
Erasmus praises Feinberg-Mngomezulu for figuring out how to bring his individual skills to the party while sticking to the Boks’ game plan.
Saturday night is another big test.
“He has always had the talent on the field but I think he is growing in confidence.
“But I know it will be very uncomfortable in this cauldron on Saturday.”
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'He has guts' - Erasmus not surprised Prendergast got the nod for Ireland
RASSIE ERASMUS IS doing his party piece of listing out the team that South Africa are expecting to face this weekend.
Sometimes he does it on X. Sometimes he does it in person, as is the case today.
This is an hour before Ireland actually publicly name their team.
Erasmus forgets Tommy O’Brien’s name, but insists that he’s hugely impressed with the Leinster wing. He seems to get Caelan Doris and Jack Conan mixed up at one stage, but he’s basically on the money with his forecast.
One of the positions he doesn’t initially mention is out-half, so he has to be prompted to predict who will be in Ireland’s number 10 shirt on Saturday.
“I think Prendergast,” says Erasmus.
“I know Crowley will be on the bench or the other way around. But whichever one comes on, then the other one seems to play better than the one who started. So it was quite tough for us to prepare, because both of them are class.”
Erasmus is full of praise for 22-year-old Sam Prendergast, who has retained his spot.
“He’s a big fellow, it looks like he always wants the ball in his hands, and he’s got guts,” says Erasmus.
“I saw the kick he kicked last weekend when he found that Jorgensen was napping there at the back.
“I think people are talking about his tackling, that there’s maybe a weakness there, but I’ve seen him go really hard and he’s a big boy, and he looks pretty fit.
“I read a bit about his background, I think he’s got a toughness about him.”
Whether it’s team predictions or hitting out at his critics, Erasmus often has a glint in his eye at these press conferences.
Given his history in Munster, it’s never dull when he comes up against Ireland.
He insists, though, that there is nothing personal about this weekend’s match-up and that it’s all about the Springboks’ collective effort.
“I’ve always noticed it’s nice and spicy when people can build it up as this thing between me and Ireland,” says Erasmus.
“I think if you talk to most of the Irish coaches and people – maybe not the pundits so much, I don’t think they enjoy me so much – but I think if you talk to the players, I’ve got no two ways about it that the things I learned here in Ireland was something that ‘I want to take this back to South Africa’, and I think I’ve been quoted many times on that.
“I can’t say that it’s personal. It’s more the respect that I’ve learned here for the discipline and how they do things and the precision farming they do here with a lot of players.
“It’s something we envy, and I really try to get that also right in South Africa, and it’s more if we get a win here, then it means our South African set-up, our players, our coaching team, we got it right eventually.”
The South Africans have lost four of their last five games against Ireland.
The most recent Springboks win in Dublin was back in 2012, so they’re certainly on a mission.
“I’m not going to lie to you and say it doesn’t come up,” says Erasmus of that record.
“I did win here as a player but that was many years ago. I haven’t won at the Aviva as a coach, even with Munster.
“So it’s almost as if you want to fix something that has never been done.
“No, it’s not revenge. It’s a nice competitive environment with a team that’s always been the last two years in the top one to four in the world, and it’s excitement where there’s something we haven’t done. And let’s go and try and do it.”
Erasmus is looking forward to seeing how his own young out-half, 23-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, performs against this Irish team.
Prendergast and Feinberg-Mngomezulu previously played against each other at international level when the Ireland U20s met the South Africa U20s in 2022. The Baby Boks won that one.
As with Prendergast, the higher potential of Feinberg-Mngomezulu was evident from early on. Having broken through with the Stormers, he made his senior Test debut against Wales in the summer of 2024.
His second and third caps came off the bench against Ireland, when he showed more of his promise.
And this year, Feinberg-Mngomezulu has taken over from Handré Pollard as the Springboks’ starting out-half, delivering some brilliant performances from their number 10 shirt. Manie Libbok backs him up from the bench this weekend.
“Handré understands that at 31, you know with Johnny [Sexton], he played until he was 38, so Handré knows there is another World Cup in him and I think he understands that we want to learn lessons from Sacha.
“Playing in France under pressure, that is a different thing. Playing on Saturday with Zombie playing, that is a different pressure.
“I don’t know if you have a word in English like snotklap, but it is like a slap in the face and makes you think, ‘Oh, this is a different level,’ and that is going to happen at some point to him.
“Then he must handle that and we must still try to get him through all the different stages of intensity.”
Erasmus praises Feinberg-Mngomezulu for figuring out how to bring his individual skills to the party while sticking to the Boks’ game plan.
Saturday night is another big test.
“He has always had the talent on the field but I think he is growing in confidence.
“But I know it will be very uncomfortable in this cauldron on Saturday.”
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Ireland Rassie Rassie Erasmus Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu Sam Prendergast South Africa