Rassie is a master of the mind game

Winning the Rugby World Cup is about many things – as any player, coach or fan will tell you. But no-one can dismiss the fact that one ingredient in the recipe for success is luck.

Undoubtedly, misfortune struck the Springbok camp this week when Malcolm Marx, one of the best hookers in the world, was been ruled out of this year’s tournament because of injury.

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The Irish, the French and the All Blacks (our main challengers in the race to the title) would rather play a South African XV without Marx than one with him…

Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus, however, are nothing if not flexible and have ensured there is talented back-up…so talented, in fact, that the Bok replacement front row arguably did better than Marx et al. in Sunday’s game against Scotland.

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And the Bok brains trust is playing that same confident-in-the-talent card in the selection of four scrumhalves for Sunday’s encounter against Romania. No doubt that idea is, yet again, driving the critics overseas crazy… but Rassie has proved himself a master of the mind game.

The message is: This is a team which is truly bigger than the sum of its parts. And those sort of teams make their own luck.

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