OPINION: Bok boss Rassie continues to keep the opposition guessing

Of course, the two World Cup wins have been fantastic, to go with several other quality performances along the way, but the most exciting thing for me during Rassie Erasmus’ time as head of the Springboks is that you just don’t know what he and his team are going to do next.

Erasmus has always been an innovator, always thinking ahead and trying new things, and that is still the case now.

Just when you think you know what’s coming, you get surprised once again. And that’s probably the case with all the Boks’ opponents, too, be it the players or the coaches.

Australian boss Joe Schmidt must be wondering what the heck is happening with the Boks making 10 changes to their starting team from last week. With a Rugby Championship at stake and still everything to play for not too many coaches would do what Erasmus has done this week.

But that’s the Bok boss for you … he does his own thing. And he pretty much always gets it right. To the frustration of the rest of the rugby world.

Three flyhalves

How much is he gambling this week, by picking the likes of Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Johan Grobbleaar, Ruan Nortje, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Aphelele Fassi against hardened Wallabies, and a leader in Salmaan Moerat, who’s played just eight Tests?

Just what will Schmidt make of the Bok team? And, that bench, all World Cup winners, who’re set to come on in the second half and make a major impact … there must be plenty of worrying going on inside that Wallabies camp.

And what’s the plan with Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok among the replacements who with Feinberg-Mngomezulu make it three No 10s in the team?

Last week we saw some clever lineout play, which we’ve never seen before, work a treat with Siya Kolisi scoring a try, and at times Cheslin Kolbe was putting the ball into the scrum and feeding the lineout.

What are Erasmus and the Boks going to come up with this weekend, and when the All Blacks arrive in South Africa for their two matches later this month?

Erasmus is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but he definitely keeps things interesting and he’s always happy to try different things, and I’m all for that.