Rassie threat shocks Kiwis

The All Blacks have been caught by surprise by Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’ drastic move to get his side fired up before this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash in Wellington.

Erasmus, expected to make three changes to his team today, hinted in the build-up to the match that he might walk away should the Boks not get the required result or lose badly.

Kiwi assistant coach Ian Foster, however, thought the timing of such a bold statement was strange. He said they had never taken a Bok Test lightly, despite dominating their contests over the last few years.

“Everyone – every coach, every management team – is trying to find the right way to approach a (Test) week,” Foster told www. stuff.co.nz. “Clearly it’s an approach they feel probably gets their boys in the right state of mind, that the South African team needs to be in.”

Regardless of recent results between the traditional foes, Foster did not believe the Boks needed additional motivation when taking on the old enemy.

“I’ve never had an easy game against them. It’s never been anything but 100% physical and brutal, and I can’t see any difference based on what we’ve heard.”

Foster said the All Blacks dissected their opposition and he believed the Boks would be a charged-up and hungry unit.

“We prepare for a team who are going to turn up and have the best game of the year,” he said. “So that’s how we do it. We’re always looking at the ‘what-ifs’ and how they’re going about it.”

Having watched the Boks beat a good England team 2-1 in their series back in June, he felt they would be formidable opponents.

“We know they can play and they’ve shown some good stuff in the Rugby Championship, and they’ve had a couple of losses away,” Foster said. “So, yeah, we know they’re going to be hungry. ”

Erasmus was likely to restore hooker Malcolm Marx, flyhalf Handre Pollard and centre Lukhanyo Am in the starting team, while naming Jesse Kriel on the wing in the place of injured Makazole Mapimpi.