Erasmus and Farrell in each other’s heads as Loftus showdown looms

Bongi Mbonambi of South Africa during the Pool B match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France on 23 September 2023 in Paris. (Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images)

By Jon Cardinelli

4 Jul 2024

Rassie Erasmus and Andy Farrell are two of the best coaches in the world and the July series between the Springboks and Ireland will give one of them bragging rights.

It’s been all fun and games in the lead-up to the highly anticipated series opener between the Springboks and Ireland.

Some of the coaches and players have made bold statements as well as passive-aggressive insinuations with the aim of distracting and unsettling the opposition.

Both sets of fans have played their part, with the social media conversation ranging from good-natured banter to less-edifying gaslighting and name-calling.

The physical and tactical nature of these matches has been analysed at length, and as the first Test looms, an arguably bigger, series-defining question demands to be answered.

Exactly who is in whose head?

One song for two nations

The question is partly a reference to the Cranberries’ hit Zombie, which has become the title track for the series for various reasons.

Bok fans appropriated the song by the Irish band at the 2023 World Cup, changing the chorus to pay homage to Rassie Erasmus, the master of rugby’s mind games.

Eight months later, the South African version of the song is a regular feature at stadiums around the country, and has proved particularly popular at Loftus Versfeld.

Boks v Ireland Farrell Andy Farrell, Ireland's coach, looks on during a Six Nations match against Italy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 11 February 2024. (Photo: David Rogers / Getty Images)

This past Monday, local comedian Radio Raps released a full-length version of the song, or rather a parody in the style of Weird Al Yankovic.

While the response was mostly positive, the specific references to the Irish approach as well as the team’s horrific World Cup record did not go down well with some fans from the Emerald Isle.

When the video was posted to X, one South African fan suggested that locals had five days to learn the lyrics before descending on Loftus for the Test on Saturday.

In a sense, the Pretoria crowd has been preparing for this series since last November.

Over the course of every Bulls home match, the DJ has blasted the Cranberries track at full volume and cued the locals to chant “Rassie! Rassie!” in lieu of the original chorus.

When that iconic overture strikes up this Saturday, the fans will be ready to play their part.

The atmosphere at Loftus promises to be something special, and the hosts will certainly attempt to harness that unique energy to their benefit.

Damian Willemse of South Africa is tackled by Josh Van der Flier of Ireland during a World Cup clash at Stade de France in Paris on 23 September 2023. (Photo: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)

Siya Kolisi breaks with the ball during the Boks' World Cup match against Ireland in Paris on 23 September 2023. (Photo: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)

Poking the bear

It’s been a fascinating build-up in Gauteng this past week, with the Boks based in the gritty Pretoria CBD and the Irish staying in a relatively plush part of Sandton.

Bok assistant coach Tony Brown lit the touch paper when he suggested that Ireland have everything to prove, before going on to highlight the enormity of the challenge for a team that is without two key players in flyhalf Johnny Sexton (retired) and scrumhalf Jamison-Gibson Park (injured).

For a moment, Brown appeared to forget the name of Ireland’s incumbent flyhalf, Jack Crowley, calling him “McCarthy”, which happens to be the name of their lock and enforcer, Joe McCarthy.

It’s highly unlikely that Brown, who is renowned for his attention to detail, would make such a mistake by accident.

A deliberate mistake, of course, might be an attempt to highlight that Sexton is in a different league, and that Crowley is not a household name in the wider rugby community.

Down the road in Joburg, Farrell and company have effectively closed the laager.

Ireland have given very little away at official press conferences, and access to players and coaches – according to the travelling media pack – has been more limited than on previous tours.

Peter O'Mahony of Ireland competes at the lineout with South Africa's Eben Etzebeth during the World Cup at Stade de France in Paris on 23 September 2023. (Photo: Matthias Hangst / Getty Images)

Controlling the narrative

Erasmus, who trolled the opposition when he posted a probable Ireland XV on social media last Sunday, took a softer approach when fronting the media at the Bok team announcement on Tuesday.

When the first question was asked – and quite predictably, it focused on the simmering rivalry between South Africa and Ireland – the Bok coach took the opportunity to play down the events of the past few months, and to reiterate his respect for the Ireland team.

In the same breath, he stated that the bad blood was between the Boks and the Irish media.

While he didn’t single out an organisation, his statement may refer to the comments made by the Off the Ball podcast during the 2023 World Cup, which were subsequently sampled in the recent Chasing the Sun docuseries.

At the time, the host of the show called Erasmus and the Boks “a bunch of whining babies”, and the South Africans clearly haven’t forgotten the insult.

Meanwhile, Erasmus’s players have enjoyed a relatively quiet ride into one of the biggest matches of the 2024 season.

Not for the first time in his tenure, the coach has diverted the attention of the media and public, and made it all about himself and the opposition.

The point has been made before, but the players love him for the fact that he is willing to make bold and at times controversial statements with the aim of keeping them out of the spotlight.

The method certainly worked during the 2021 British & Irish Lions series and at the 2023 World Cup, and appears to be working in the early stages of this series.

After all that’s been said this week, a lot of people on both sides of the SA-Irish divide may be wondering if the 24-year-old Crowley is up to the challenge of starting the series opener at Loftus.

By contrast, there’s been very little talk about the fact that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is two years younger than Crowley and has less Test experience, having made his debut two weeks ago against Wales.

Read more in Daily Maverick: I’m just a rank-and-file Bok, not an on-field team general, says Handré Pollard

Read more in Daily Maverick: Boks vs Ireland – here’s a four-point battle plan for Rassie’s men

Feinberg-Mngomezulu has enjoyed a dream start to his career, but it will be some time yet before he is accustomed to the pressure of preparing and playing at this elite level. While he certainly deserves this opportunity – Erasmus has included the utility back on the bench – there is a danger that his lack of experience may be exploited by the opposition.

With that in mind, you’ve got to admire the way that Erasmus has shielded the youngster and others in the build-up to this game.

It remains to be seen whether Farrell will talk about his plans to pressure Feinberg-Mngomezulu and others, either this week or in the lead-up to the decider in Durban.

Bongi Mbonambi during a Pool B World Cup match between South Africa and Ireland at Stade de France on 23 September 2023. (Photo: Steve Haag / Gallo Images)

Circus a sign of success

It’s worth stepping back and acknowledging the hype and interest around this series as a success in itself.

The promo for the series, which dropped this week, aligned the burgeoning rivalry between South Africa and Ireland with the more established rivalry between the Boks and the All Blacks.

While it may be some time yet before it lives up to that particular standard, the new rivalry has all the elements to be a long-term success.

To partly answer the question about who is in whose head, the Boks are evidently (and rightly) obsessed with ending a three-game losing streak against Ireland.

Ireland are desperate to prove that the win in Paris last year was no fluke and that they remain a cut above the world champions.

Both are very much in each other’s heads, and will occupy that space for the next two weeks.

And really, would we have it any other way? DM

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Poking the bear

Controlling the narrative

Circus a sign of success