How Rassie dealt with bickering Duane, Eben
12/04/2024 15:52
Rassie Erasmus dropped a bombshell on a disjointed Springbok leadership group following the 2023 Rugby World Cup defeat to Ireland.
The third episode of Chasing the Sun 2 revealed how the Springboks reacted to their pool stage loss to the Six Nations champions.
In a meeting between the Springbok coaches after the game, Erasmus noted how Duane Vermeulen had on-field disagreements with Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi about the gameplan.
Erasmus dropped a bombshell on the three leaders during the Monday team meeting, announcing that he was ready to leave them out of the World Cup quarter-final and telling Bongi Mbonambi to be prepared to take over as captain.
“I couldn’t have these three big dogs, not patrolling together,” Erasmus explained.
Erasmus dealt with the issue by sending the trio to a meeting room to resolve their issues.
“I said, ‘I’m leaving three of you for 15 minutes now. You come back to me after 15 minutes and tell me if you are really here to win the World Cup’,” Erasmus recalled.
Vermeulen admitted that there were problems between the Springbok leaders, especially since Kolisi and Etzebeth had a closer relationship than he did with either player.
“Rassie called us out, myself, Siya and Eben and said, ‘listen, there’s a divide between the three of you’,” Vermeulen recalled.
“Siya and Eben are good mates, they play together, they braai together, they’ve walked this whole journey together. I’m a little bit older and I’m not going to change who I am.”
Erasmus’ plan worked a treat as Etzebeth explained that he and Vermeulen settled their differences and decided to work any future issues out privately.
“We are big personalities, me and Duane. I think we sometimes had different opinions,” Etzebeth said.
“We sat, me and Duane, and said if we have a difference of opinion, let’s do it behind closed doors. We came back with a better plan for the team, so that the team doesn’t see us having different opinions.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
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