“No team that has lost a pool game has ever gone on to win the World Cup”
That statement hit home hard for Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus shortly after their loss to the All Blacks in their opening game of the Rugby World Cup.
But moments later, sitting in the changeroom with a bunch of disappointed players who had seen two mistakes cost them a game, Erasmus was positive.
Instead of blaming the mistakes or the referee that cost them the game, the Bok coach blamed himself. And on the Monday, when the emotions had died down, and it was time to move on, Erasmus had a very simple message for the Springboks. “I believe we can still win the World Cup,” he told players on the Monday morning. Erasmus knew that he had to bring the Boks back from their disappointment and get them up to forge ahead in the tournament.
The behind the scenes moments are an integral part of the third episode of Chasing the Sun, which airs on Sunday night on MNet. “You had to get the players to believe this is not the end of the world, if they start believing that sh*t, then you are in trouble,” Erasmus says.
But the loss to New Zealand, so often the end of the road for so many teams at a World Cup, only served to motivate the Boks.
The episode chronicles the build-up to the test match, the frustration at the way French referee Jerome Garces allowed the All Blacks to get away with murder at the scrum, and what was said in the changeroom during and after the game. And more importantly, it chronicles the way the Boks stood up from the defeat, and powered their way forward, through their group and on to the quarterfinals.
“I believe we can do it with all my heart,” Erasmus’ plea resonated with the Bok players and they started to believe.
The Bok journey continues through the pool rounds, the way the team stood up against the potential slippery banana peel that was Italy, and how it made them the team that believed that they would go all the way.
Along the way, the spectre of Twitter trolls raised its head, trying to disrupt the side with claims of racism, but as the episode shows, it only served to make them stronger.
And while other teams faltered at their tasks, the Bok management had a plan. They made the Boks believe, and as Erasmus answered the question when posed after the game: “It seems we will have to go and break those records now.”
*Chasing the Sun airs episode three on Sunday night at 6pm on MNet.