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JEREMY MAGGS: Now overnight, the Springboks have dismissed any suggestion that they’ve been distracted by off-field tension in the buildup to the final tomorrow night, notably the Bongi Mbonambi racial epithet row. But can it have an impact and I wonder how our director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, is thinking.
Well, author David O’Sullivan, who wrote the best-selling book, Rassie, is in a good position to share some thinking in that respect. David, I assume that all his cunning, gamesmanship and psychology will be utilised and is being utilised to prepare the Boks ahead of the game tomorrow.
DAVID O’SULLIVAN: Absolutely correct, Jeremy. When I think back in 2019 to the World Cup, and you remember there was a racial spat then after the quarterfinal against Japan, where Makazole Mapimpi was seen to be shooed away from a group celebration of white players, and it was immediately perceived as racist. That’s when we understood the power of the ‘bomb squad’ and the fraternity of the ‘bomb squad’, and it was very innocently explained because it happened for innocent reasons.
Rassie had to contend with a racial problem then and the way he handled it was by going to the players involved to ensure that they were not in any way damaged or scarred or felt any kind of prejudice as a result of what had happened, and shielded the players from any fallout that was happening back in South Africa.
I have no doubt he will have employed exactly the same techniques, the same modus operandi in dealing with this to ensure that the players, as they have said, remain undistracted by what has happened. He also will have prepared this team so comprehensively. Again, we can learn from 2019, where the Springboks played a warmup game against Japan because Rassie anticipated we would face them at some stage in the competition, and we did in the quarter finals, and the Springboks were ready for Japan.
Fast forward to 2023, he anticipated we’d play the All Blacks at some stage in this tournament and organised a friendly at Twickenham where we put a record score past the All Blacks. So going into tomorrow’s game, there aren’t any unexpected things and the motivation they would’ve got, the confidence they would’ve got from having beaten the All Blacks at Twickenham in the warmup game will carry them through very nicely into the final tomorrow.
JEREMY MAGGS: David, it’s a funny old thing, fans and players alike almost seem to rise to the occasion when we have our back to the wall in one way or another.
DAVID O’SULLIVAN: Well, correct and I think that if anything happened, it was probably a galvanising effect, if the players were in any way addressing this issue, I think it would’ve brought them together. Certainly, what I find quite remarkable about Tom Curry’s allegation against Bongi Mbonambi is that it’s united all South Africans across the world, and most South Africans, I should say, across the racial divide on an issue of racism, almost ironic that that would be the case.
But Rassie and Jacques Nienaber are, in fact, that entire management team, I can’t just put it down to one or two people, obviously led by Rassie and Jacques Nienaber, they’re very, very strong on what they call alignment. They are constantly talking about alignment and by that they mean are we all on the same page, do we all understand one another.
A lot of their training is not actually on a rugby field, it’s behind closed doors in front of a whiteboard where they talk about things that they are feeling, things that might be bugging them, things they want to get off their chest, things they need to talk about.
If Bongi’s story was something that was upsetting them, I think undoubtedly, they would’ve had a few alignment sessions to make sure that everybody was comfortable and then they could go forward.
JEREMY MAGGS: To that point, David, Kwagga Smith was talking about the team playing for each other and for South Africa, rather than, and here’s the important bit, seeking external respect.
DAVID O’SULLIVAN: Yes, and I totally understand that. So for Rassie, his philosophy always is it’s not about picking the best players, it’s picking the right players. So he looks at the mental capabilities, whether you are prepared to be a part of a band of brothers, but if you feel you’re the prima donna, or as he calls it, windgat, if you’re not part of the team, if you’re playing for yourself and not for anybody else, then you are out of the picture.
So to be the right player, it means that you’ve got not only the physical attributes, the skillset that’s required, but you’ve also got the headspace that’s important. What’s important for this team is that you play for the team, they will die for each other. You look at those strong bonds that have been established; they do play for each other. They play for their country.
These things are very big in their hearts, and they see the videos from back home, they know how the fans are reacting and that motivates them going forward. But individuality, it’s not part of the picture.
So when people are saying, poor Manie Libbok, he’s losing out. Manie Libbok’s time is going to come. He probably has another two World Cups in him, and he won’t be sitting with a thick lip saying, this is unfair because he understands the value of Handré Pollard playing in the wet rather than his preferred game in the dry.
You won’t find that these players in any way are resentful that they’re not part of the match day 23, but they are appreciative of the fact that they’re part of the World Cup squad. They all get medals at the end of the day.
JEREMY MAGGS: Author of the best selling book Rassie, David O’Sullivan, thank you very much indeed.
