Rassie admits his growing sense of Ke Nako
There's a distinct sense that the Springboks' relatively serene environment now becomes very much World Cup hectic.
Rassie Erasmus (Head Coach) of South Africa during the South African national rugby team official arrival media conference at Sun Royal Hotel on September 13, 2019 in Kagoshima, Japan. (Photo by Steve Haag/Gallo Images)
For all their success in 2019, the Springboks have still to a large extent been flying under the radar following years of underachievement.
But just over a fortnight in Japan has changed that.
Rassie Erasmus and his troops are now one of the great challengers to the All Blacks’ throne as the media writes them up and an enthusiastic Japanese rugby fan base embrace them.
It’s little wonder then that the Springbok coach noted on Friday that the atmosphere the team finds it in has changed dramatically.
“This morning when we got up you could feel the change,” said Erasmus.
“We were on Rugby World Cup buses rather than City of Kagoshima buses, the liaison officers were wearing Rugby World Cup shirts, we had accreditation round our necks to get into the training ground so you could definitely feel a shift.”
While it’s unlikely that the Boks will feel a bit uneasy about the more formal, perhaps even more energetic environment they’ll operate in now, their potential strength lies in something they cultivated in the exact backwaters they’ve now left.
“We have been together for 11, 12 weeks now, basically away from home most of the time, and we have certainly got closer as a team,” said Erasmus.
“We have achieved a lot of the objectives we set in coming early to Japan.”
An adopted fan base certainly also helps.
“Something that has stood out for me – and I don’t think I’ve seen this anywhere else – is the people of the host nation wearing the jersey of the visiting team – the Springbok badge. I think that’s been amazing to see the Japanese people wearing the Springbok jersey. I think that shows a lot of respect and I think we can learn a lot from that,” said Erasmus.
Skipper Siya Kolisi also spoke in the tone of a man ready to embrace being in the spotlight.
“I think it was a great call for us to come early and it has been a great privilege,” he said.
“We know how to handle the conditions now and the fact that our training has been very hard means it will stand us in good stead. The benefits will come through later in the games. I’ve also enjoyed the (sights), I visited the volcano and it was pretty amazing to see it erupt while we were there.”
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