As the highly anticipated first rugby test match between South Africa and New Zealand at Johannesburg’s iconic Ellis Park stadium approaches on Saturday, pre-series mind games have already taken center stage – a familiar subplot in one of global rugby’s most intense rivalries.
The touring All Blacks, who put on an impressive dominant display in three warm-up matches against South African club sides, racking up 142 points while conceding just 40, have publicly pushed the narrative that the Springboks and other South African national sides intentionally slow match pace to derail New Zealand’s fast-paced, fluid playing style. The claim has been echoed across the All Blacks camp, from head coach Dave Rennie and assistant coach Tana Umaga to senior forward Codie Taylor.
South Africa’s head coach Rassie Erasmus pushed back firmly on the allegations during a media address Monday, pointing to the pair of test matches between the two sides held last September as evidence to contradict the All Blacks’ claims. In those two contests, New Zealand secured a 24-17 home win in Auckland, while the Springboks responded with a dominant 43-10 victory over the All Blacks just one week later in Wellington. Erasmus posed a sharp rhetorical question to reporters in response to the All Blacks’ claims: “Were those slow games?”
Joining Erasmus was Jaco Peyper, a veteran test referee with 67 top-level matches under his belt, including countless fixtures featuring the All Blacks, who now serves as a technical advisor to the Springboks. Peyper clarified that World Rugby laws grant teams 30 seconds to set up for a set-piece after the referee marks the spot of the stoppage with their foot. “We have to adhere to that and we train for it,” Peyper said. “You can do whatever you want inside those 30 seconds. There’s nothing in the law that says you can’t idle before the mark is given.” Erasmus expanded on the point, noting: “If in those 30 seconds you want to go down and pray, that is your right.”
Despite pushing back on the public claims, Erasmus said he understands and even sympathizes with the All Blacks’ decision to raise their concerns in the media. He traced the current dynamic to recent rule changes from World Rugby that have altered pre-match protocols for meetings between head coaches and match officials. Under the new rules, coaches can no longer hold separate private meetings with referees, and if either coach declines a meeting, neither side gets to meet with the official ahead of kickoff.
Rennie confirmed Monday that Erasmus had declined a pre-match meeting with this weekend’s referee, English official Matthew Carley, and added that he shared that preference. Rennie noted that the All Blacks had submitted video clips of alleged time-wasting to World Rugby through the governing body’s shared open system, and had received official clarity on the rules in response. Erasmus said that skipping the pre-match meeting had actually avoided an open, public argument between the two coaching staffs over the time-wasting issue before the test even kicked off.
At the same time, Erasmus noted that the new protocol has left all international rugby coaches frustrated, creating a growing communication gap between coaching staffs and match officials that pushes sides to air their grievances through public media channels. “I totally understand why the All Blacks voiced some of their concerns,” Erasmus said. “That’s the only option.”
Beyond the pre-series verbal sparring, both sides are managing late injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s opening test. For the Springboks, captain Siya Kolisi is dealing with a minor hamstring niggle, while prop Ox Nche is working through a knee issue, and the team is still waiting for both players to receive medical clearance to take the field. For New Zealand, the tour suffered a small setback after loosehead prop Ollie Norris sustained knee cartilage damage in the All Blacks’ final warm-up match against the Bulls that rules him out for the remainder of the tour. New Zealand has already called up uncapped Highlanders tighthead prop Saula Ma’u to replace Norris on the touring squad.