Erasmus admits 6/2 bench tactic backfired on Springboks in All Blacks defeat

Rassie Erasmus has admitted that his celebrated 6/2 bench strategy “backfired” on the Springboks for the first time in recent memory, after South Africa were outscored 21-3 in the second half by the All Blacks at Ellis Park in the opening match of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test series.

The world champions stacked their replacements bench with six forwards and only two backs — a tactic that has become a hallmark of Erasmus’s tenure — but a ninth-minute injury to wing Kurt-Lee Arendse unravelled the plan before it could be properly executed. With Arendse off the field, the backline was reshuffled in a way that compromised both attack and defence, and the coach was unsparing in his self-assessment.

“I don’t want to make excuses because what happened was on me and on us as a team,” Erasmus said at Monday’s squad announcement. “But I think for the first time in a long time, the 6/2 experiment backfired on us. I’ll say it as it is.”

The original blueprint had hybrid midfielder-flanker Andre Esterhuizen — 193 cm and 113 kg — earmarked as an impact flanker off the bench. Instead, the Sharks back was forced into the 12 jersey when Jesse Kriel shifted to the wing to cover for Arendse, leaving the entire backline structure disrupted.

Erasmus acknowledged a cleaner solution existed. “Probably a better thing would have been to put Gaza [Damian Willemse] on the wing, put Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] at fullback and put Manie [Libbok] at 10. Then the 12/13 stays intact. We also had Grant [Williams] that could have gone to wing and Cobus [Reinach] could have come straight on. I think I made the incorrect sub there and that disjointed the whole attack flow.”

Two yellow cards for bench players during the second-half collapse added further pressure, though Erasmus stopped short of blaming the replacements directly for the defeat.

Despite the scale of the second-half swing, the coach pushed back against suggestions the result was a “catastrophe”. “It’s awful. It’s shit. It’s not nice to be in this position. I would rather play bad and win than play good and lose,” he said. “But the Boks have been down before and have always found a way to fight back.”

The series continues with South Africa now under immediate pressure to level matters, and with Erasmus having publicly flagged the tactical adjustment required, the bench configuration for the next Test will be under intense scrutiny.