I was Content Springboks Rassie Hailed Cheslin Kolbe two-try Hero Performance vs England

The Springboks made it two from two in November with a hard-fought win over England at Twickenham. Erasmus said afterwards it wasn’t a perfect performance, but they were happy with the nine-point victory as they outscored the hosts four tries to two.

“We had a good winning margin,” Erasmus said. “So overall it wasn’t fantastic but we are content that we could beat them today.”

Central to the win was the performance of Kolbe, who scored a try in either half. He was also exceptional in defence. Erasmus was reluctant to talk him up post-match, but was keen to highlight some of his brilliant work away from the two tries he scored.

“I’m so nervous that I’m jinxing it, and I keep on saying he’s just a special player but it doesn’t seem to go to his head,” Erasmus said of Kolbe. “I think that’s probably one of the most important things in the world, that stuff doesn’t get to your head.

“I think the team also helps him a lot but one can’t praise him enough. It’s not always the glamorous things that he does. There’s a lot of off the ball work that he really does well and yeah, we can just be very fortunate that we have such a good crop of winners.”

When asked how they get on the right side of these matches, Erasmus said: “I definitely think it’s experience. I think with the team that we put out there has played together a lot in important games. I do think calm heads, which we weren’t always in the coaches’ box, but the players on the field pretty much were cool, calm and handled it.”

Siya Kolisi said England will come good, and get through this poor run where they have lost six of their last seven Tests.

“You see the way they played, they made it hard for us and we had to dig deep and keep on going over and over and we’ve been through this kind of period as well. If you give up you’re never going to make it out of it,” Kolisi said.

“You just got to keep on going. It’s tough, it’s really tough. But it really helped us and pulled us together as a group and we have certain goals and we reach those goals and that’s what I said earlier in the week, the motivation comes from within.

“We don’t look for outside motivation as we are playing for the people back in our country. It’s been special to see so many South Africans come out and support us here. So yeah, it’ll come right for them as long as they just keep on going.”

It is understood plans are still in the early stages, but there is urgency in establishing a pool of interested players from both the men’s and women’s game with a view to attracting further talent.

A source told ESPN that the biggest names in the sport, both from tier-one nations and emerging nations, are being targeted by the project which is not relying on funding from the Middle East.

The source added that the league would not look to interfere with the existing international rugby calendar, as the organisers would want players to be able to compete both in the new project and for their countries.

The rough plans would see a global competition established, which has taken inspiration from elements of Formula 1, LIV Golf and the Indian Premier League. The outline would see eight franchise teams established, with each round of the competition held in a different city, taking the league around the world.

One senior coach told ESPN: “The whole game needs a shake-up. We need revolution to evolve.”

Another ESPN source said: “It’s exactly what rugby needs. The club game is broken in every market. The players are frustrated, and I think you could get the players onside quickly.”

One other source warned there are several hurdles ahead, though. The sport’s biggest players are all under contract with their respective teams, so if the league’s powerbrokers push ahead with approaching and trying to sign players, the buyout clauses and compensation could run into tens of millions of pounds. It is understood there’s interest from both UK and U.S.-based investors in this competition, which would sit alongside domestic leagues and international fixtures.

World Rugby is not understood to be concerned at the developments at this stage. The news of the breakaway came on the same day the sport’s governing body confirmed Brett Robinson as its new chairman.

Before news of the breakaway broke, Robinson said the sport does need change. “I was very clear leading into the elections that the financial sustainability of our member unions is at crisis point, so we have to find ways, collectively, to deal with that,” Robinson said.

“I was really clear about the need to grow the game, while ensuring our core markets are in a good place.”