Eddie Jones: The law World Rugby should ‘remove’ as late Springboks call has Rassie Erasmus’ fingerprints all over it

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and former England and Australia boss Eddie Jones.

Eddie Jones wouldn’t be surprised if Rassie Erasmus had some sort of involvement in the change which the ex-England boss felt helped the Springboks to their victory over the Wallabies.

South Africa got their Rugby Championship campaign back on track with a 30-22 victory over Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Their breakdown work was key to the win, an area they struggled in the previous week, with the loose trio much more effective at close quarters.

Late back-row change

Writing in his Planet Rugby column, Jones thought the late inclusion of Kwagga Smith, who came in for Jean-Luc du Preez at number eight, proved to be beneficial for the Springboks.

The official reason given for Du Preez’s absence was illness, but Jones knows that Erasmus is the master of finding loopholes in the laws.

“One nuance that I think played into South Africa’s hands was the enforced change before kick-off that saw Jean-Luc du Preez swapped out for Kwagga Smith,” he wrote.

“Now, I wouldn’t put it past Rassie Erasmus to have engineered this in his own intelligent way, but Smith’s ability in the wet conditions around the breakdown, supported by Van Staden and Nche, was crucial for them.

“I’d add – I am against the regulation that insists on early named teams without the ability to make changes, and it’s a law I’d remove if I were World Rugby.”

The breakdown was not the only thing that separated the sides with Handre Pollard proving to be far more accurate from the tee than his opposition fly-half.

“Another nuance was the difference in goal kicking between the Wallabies and South Africa, something that really played into framing the result,” Jones added.

“Pollard nailed a full house, James O’Connor left 11 points out there, getting three from seven. Whilst JOC has run the backline well, scoreboard pressure is key at Test level, especially against the Boks, who aren’t a particularly high scoring side compared to others – grabbing your marginal points against them is absolutely key.”

Springboks in ‘transition’

Although it was not a convincing victory from South Africa, it gave them something to build on for the double-header against the All Blacks.

After the Johannesburg defeat, Jones leapt to the defence of the Boks and the former England and Wallabies head coach feels that Erasmus’ side are in a “transition” period.

The Springboks boss understands the need to refresh the squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but that can come at the expense of results.

“I do think South Africa are in a moment of transition – they’re learning what style suits new personnel and they’re exploring who stays and who goes in terms of the cycle of established stars, so a little inconsistency is to be expected at this stage,” Jones wrote.