Were Boks pulling punches with All Blacks, Eden Park on the horizon?

IN 2018 and 2019, it was clear that Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks prioritised their away matches against the All Blacks.

- JOHN GOLIATH

In 2018, the Boks won their opening match against Argentina at home before being hammered by Los Pumas away in Mendoza. A week later, the South Africans lost to the Wallabies in Brisbane, and people were already starting to speculate about Erasmus’ future — seven games in, with three wins and four defeats to his name.

Heading into their next match against the All Blacks in Wellington, Erasmus said: "If we do really bad here, then I will probably not be in the seat for the next couple of matches and somebody else will probably be there."

At the time, as journalists, we took it at face value. It genuinely seemed as though he was completely stressed and already worried about his job. It was reported as such, with the feeling that Erasmus may have underestimated the size of the job ahead of him.

But the Springboks produced one of the great performances by an opposition rugby team on New Zealand soil, coming out on top by playing a complete brand of rugby. Erasmus ended up keeping his job, and a year later, the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in Japan.