Rassie: Boks just need to outscore All Blacks

Springbok boss Rassie Erasmus says merely trying to contain the All Blacks’ attack in Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry decider would be a recipe for disaster.

Erasmus believes the Boks must embrace and build on their attacking intent at Baltimore’s M&T Stadium, with victory required to seal a 3-1 series triumph.

The Boks bounced back from their 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park by beating the All Blacks 33-26 in Cape Town and 29-24 at FNB Stadium, and Erasmus does not want his team falling into the same trap as in the opening Test. cricket-info.homes

“I think the important thing is we just have to score more points than them,” Erasmus told the media from Baltimore after naming his team. “I think one of the biggest mistakes you can make against the All Blacks is just to try and defend.”

TEAM: Boks back Krappie for Baltimore decider

Erasmus admitted the Boks became too focused on stopping New Zealand in the first Test, only to realise afterwards that they had attacking opportunities of their own.

“At the end of the day you just need to outscore your opposition. If it means they score four tries and you kick five drop goals like Jannie de Beer at the 1999 World Cup against England, you just need to score more points than them.

“To try and contain them is extremely difficult – just ask our franchises and France.”

RASSIE: Morné deserves his chance

That places an even greater emphasis on South Africa’s attacking evolution, with assistant coach Tony Brown working to ensure the Boks are not overly reliant on their traditional strengths at scrum and maul time.

“Tony has worked really hard since the loss in the first Test,” said Erasmus. “Obviously we don’t just want to score maul tries or scrum tries, we also want to use other opportunities, so we’ve been working hard at that.

ALSO: 42 wins in 49 Tests – These Springboks are simply relentless

“Damian [de Allende] was good on Saturday, Jesse [Kriel] was very good, Ethan [Hooker] did well, so I think the guys are getting better,” he added.

Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images

The post Rassie: Boks just need to outscore All Blacks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

The Springboks are preparing themselves for a massive backlash from the All Blacks when the sides collide in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry finale at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, USA on Saturday.

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus showed just how important the match is by making minimal changes once again for the fourth Test, with just two made to the starting side, one of which is injury enforced.

It was a slight surprise as it is now well known that the Boks are comfortable ringing the changes, even going into big games, and with some players having not yet featured in the series, such as flyhalf Handré Pollard and utility back Canan Moodie, a few more were expected.

Instead, the Boks have gone with consistency, as the only change to the match 23 sees the injured Cheslin Kolbe drop out, while the fit-again Damian Willemse retakes his place at fullback.

Scrumhalves Morné van den Berg and Cobus Reinach then swap places, with Van den Berg being rewarded with a start after an action packed showing off the bench over the past weekend.

With the Boks leading the series 2-1, having fought back after losing the opener at Ellis Park, with wins in Cape Town and the past weekend in Soweto, they now want to seal a 3-1 series win.

But Erasmus said that they are expecting a backlash from the All Blacks as they will be desperate to level the series and finish their tour on a high, especially after they started it with five straight wins, four of which came against the South African URC franchises.

Proud team

“We have faced the All Blacks three weeks in a row, and just like us, they are a proud team who showed last week that they will never stop fighting until the final whistle. So we are under no illusions about the magnitude of the challenge ahead this weekend,” explained Erasmus.

“That said, we are equally determined to finish the series strongly and give everything to lift the trophy, and the players are excited about the match.

“We have no doubt that it’s going to be another epic encounter that will require a full-blown 80-minute effort on attack and defence, so we will manage the players well this week to ensure that they are ready physically and mentally for Saturday.”

It has been a fantastic season so far for the Boks and they will be eager to continue their strong run, with another win over the All Blacks.

They have won six of their seven Tests, starting with Nations Championship wins over England, Scotland and Wales, followed by a one-off Test win over Argentina.

The All Blacks then dealt the Boks their only loss so far this year in the first Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test, before they bounced back with wins in Cape Town and Soweto.

A third straight win over their biggest rivals would then be the perfect way for the Boks to close out the series and then head Down Under to take on Australia in a one-off Test in Perth at the end of the month.

After the match against the Wallabies the Boks have a month off before going on their end-of-year-tour to the UK and Europe where they will close out their season with four more Nations Championship games.

En Guinée, les avocats de l’ex-magistrat Algassimou Diallo ont pu échanger avec lui à deux reprises, ce lundi 7 septembre. Soupçonné d'avoir échangé avec l’ancien Premier ministre et opposant Cellou Dalein Diallo, le juriste est poursuivi pour provocation à la discrimination, à la haine, à la violence et association de malfaiteurs. Les avocats se sont offusqués du transfert de leur client à la prison de Macenta, à 700 kilomètres de Conakry, alors qu’une audience est prévue mardi 15 septembre.

Le MC Alger a annoncé, lundi, une restructuration de son conseil d’administration à l’issue de l’assemblée générale tenue en soirée. Ainsi, Mohamed Arabi Yaâkoubi a été désigné nouveau président du conseil, succédant à Mohamed Hakim Hadj-Radjem.

Ce dernier restera membre du conseil durant un mois, le temps d’assurer une passation des dossiers dans de bonnes conditions.

L’assemblée a également validé l’entrée d’Ali Abderrahim et d’Abdennour Kaoua au sein du conseil, en remplacement d’Ahmed Turki Messaoudi, Rafik Balmane et Kamel Kechida, remerciés pour leur contribution durant leur mandat.

La direction du club a, par ailleurs, tenu à rendre hommage à la mémoire de feu Omar Katrandji, ancien membre du conseil, décédé récemment, saluant les services rendus au club.

Le nouveau conseil d’administration du MCA se compose désormais de Mohamed Arabi Yaâkoubi (Président), Hafid Stambouli (membre), Abdennour Kaoua (membre), Ali Abderrahim (membre) et Mohamed Hakim Hadj-Radjem (membre temporaire).

La direction a remercié Hadj-Radjem pour son action à la tête du club, et souhaité plein succès à M. Yaâkoubiainsi qu’aux nouveaux membres dans l’accomplissement de leurs missions, au service du club et de son avenir sportif et institutionnel.

Pour rappel, sous la présidence de Hadj Redjem le club doyen a réalisé un saut qualitatif remarquable avec la réception de son centre de regroupement Abderrahmane Aouf – Baba Hamoud, à Zéralda, et surtout son stade Ali Ammar à Douéra, le tout couronné par cinq titres : trois championnats consécutifs (2023/2024, 2024/2025 et 2025/2026) et deux Supercoupe (2024 et 2025).

Durant l’été 2026, et malgré les promesses du propriétaire du club, le groupe Sonatrach, Hadj Redjem n’a pas réussi à réaliser le recrutement XXL souhaité par les supporters des Vert et Rouge, ce qui soulevé une grosse grogne et une campagne pour exiger son départ;

Malgré l’investissement et la réussite de l’homme et son dévouement pour le club, la pression fut plus pesante qu’auparavant lorsqu’il avait souhaité à deux reprises à démissionner en 2024 et en 2025, une doléance rejetée par le P-DG de Sonatrach.

Mais cette fois-ci, Hadj Redjem s’est dit vraiment très épuisé par quatre années sous les feux des projecteurs, lui qui a, faut-il le souligner, a ramené la stabilité et semé la joie chez les supporters à travers les sacres jusqu’à la décima, le dixième titre de champion des algérois.

Selon certaines sources, Hadj Redjem, cadre au sein du groupe pétrolier, serait annoncé pour occuper d’autres fonctions. Lesquelles ? Rien n’a filtré à ce sujet pour l’instant, mais l’histoire retiendra que le MCA a connu une période faste sous Hadj Redjem que de nombreux amoureux du club ne voudraient pas regretter de sitôt.

L’article ALG : MC Alger, Hadj Redjem quitte la présidence, Yaâkoubi le remplace est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.

Manie Libbok’s ability to handle pressure and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s defensive skills decided the Springbok No 10 race for Saturday, according to Rassie Erasmus, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.

Libbok will provide bench cover for Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the fourth and final Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and the All Blacks in Baltimore.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu starts for a fifth straight Test, with Libbok again among the replacements after playing much of last week’s 29-24 win at 10 after injury to Chelsin Kolbe forced a backline rejig.

Handré Pollard is being lined up for the Wallabies clash on 26 September.

TEAM: Boks back Krappie for Baltimore decider

“Handré is almost ready. We could have selected Handré as well, and he’ll probably play against Australia. It’s about consistency,” Erasmus said on Monday.

“The game is different in the last 30 minutes when everybody is a bit more tired … forwards are a bit more heavy-footed and struggle to fill the gaps.

“Apart from the skill that Sacha has, he’s a really good defender, and normally one of the big things that the All Blacks try and get [is attack].

MORE: Record-breaking Kolisi leads Springboks to promised land

“Manie definitely did really well for us [last week]. But with Sacha, there are some areas where he’s not 100% hit his straps for us yet.

“But we must remember he was out for a very long time, and it’s only his fourth game back.

“Manie, we feel he can come on after five minutes if Sacha gets injured, and we know he can handle the pressure, but we might need him later in the game like we did last weekend.”

Erasmus noted Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s role in a scramble defence he expects New Zealand to test at the M&T Bank Stadium.

ALSO: 42 wins in 49 Tests – These Springboks are simply relentless

“When the All Blacks make a linebreak, they put all of their speed into it … they certainly can cut us apart and finish some awesome tries, like they have been,” the Bok boss said.

“There’s not a defence system which I think they will not breach with the way they’re playing, and then the scramble defence becomes really important.

“When you have young, energetic guys like Sacha … those kinds of guys in your team, that helps a lot because they bring the energy and the speed. But the older guys bring calmness too. That combination is really important.”

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

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