Gregor Townsend and Rassie Erasmus trade compliments but it hasn’t always been cordial

The Scotland coach described them variously as having the “best pack in world rugby”, being “the best team in world rugby” and having “the best coach in the world” in Rassie Erasmus.

Given that the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and retained it four years later, it’s a fair assessment but what is perhaps most interesting was Townsend’s praise for Erasmus.

The pair haven’t always seen eye to eye and it is a coaching rivalry that dates back to their time in charge of Glasgow Warriors and Munster, respectively. There was little love lost between the teams in those days and a degree of enmity still exists.

Accused of sledging

There has also been a frisson between the coaches. Townsend spoke out strongly against Erasmus five years ago, pinpointing two separate occasions in which he felt the South African overstepped the mark, eroding rugby’s values in the process.

The first was Erasmus’ 62-minute Twitter post during the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour in which the then Boks director of rugby delivered a video critique of Australian referee Nic Berry after South Africa had lost the opening test of the tempestuous Lions series.

“That was a really bad episode for our game,” Townsend later said.

The second came a few months later during South Africa’s 30-15 win at Murrayfield when Erasmus reprised his “water boy” role against Scotland, allowing him to access the field of play to hand out water bottles and deliver tactical instructions to the South African players, a ploy he used during the series against the Lions. Townsend said Erasmus also “sledged” a Scotland player.

“I wasn’t really aware of it at the time but someone showed me a video of him making comments about one of our players, a character assassination or sledging or whatever,” Townsend said in the aftermath.

Erasmus, now South Africa’s head coach, appears to have mellowed somewhat in recent years and he was diplomacy personified this week as he gave his take on Scotland. “They are a quality team, who will test us in all areas of the game, and they are well coached, so they will throw everything they have at us,” he said.

‘Best coach in the world’

Townsend, who led Scotland to a very impressive 47-38 away win over Argentina on day one of the Nations Championship last weekend, was equally effusive when asked about Erasmus.

“He's obviously the best coach in the world and has been for a while,” said the Scotland boss. “He produces winning performances. I think his teams are based on winning. It's about finding a way to win. They play with an intensity and they work hard for each other.”

Like Scotland, South Africa scored seven tries last week as they blew England away in the opening round of the new tournament. But while Townsend has stuck largely with the same team, making just three changes, Erasmus has ripped up the script, bringing 10 new players into his starting XV for Loftus Versfeld.

Townsend was not unduly surprised given the Boks’ strength in depth.

“I've seen that with his Munster teams and obviously with the Springbok team,” he said. “And with this current Springbok team, there's definitely a use of players, which has two positive outcomes: you build depth, but also you create internal motivation and competition.

Saves time

“I'm sure that this group that get to play for the Springboks at the weekend have that motivation to play more often. He's created that with the team and they've got the best depth in the world right now.”

Erasmus, as he tends to do, went early with his team announcement, revealing his hand on Monday. Townsend acknowledged it was no bad thing to know the Boks personnel at the start of the week.

“It certainly saves time because you're not second guessing and you're looking at different players and what they might do.

“Teams can change though. I think obviously South Africa made a couple of changes last week from injuries during a training week.”

This will be the fifth time Townsend has taken on South Africa as Scotland’s head coach and he is still seeking his first win. There have been three defeats at Murrayfield, in 2018, 2021 and 2024, and the 18-3 loss in Marseille in the sides’ opening game of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

In the last meeting in Edinburgh, Townsend felt Scotland stood up physically but were undone by their failure to take their chances. There was also a 20-minute red card for Scott Cummings.

“We created enough opportunities to put more points on the board,” said the coach. “We showed real physicality and work rate, and we rode an early storm of going points down. We picked up a red card, but we showed real resilience that day, but it wasn't enough, and we have to give more.

“I believe we're a better team [compared to 2024], but this is a bigger challenge than playing the Springboks at home. We've got to play a game that is 80 minutes of physicality, of thinking, of being together and being in control when you have those moments and those opportunities to score.”

Thanks to the United Rugby Championship, the Edinburgh and Glasgow players are now accustomed to playing in South Africa. Ten of those in Townsend’s 23 were in the Warriors squad for their stunning win over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in the URC final two years ago.

The coach said the experience of playing regularly in South Africa was “a big bonus” but he also offered some words of caution.

“Playing the Springboks is different than playing the Bulls and playing the Stormers and other teams. Obviously, the way the Springboks have played over the last few years, the challenge is going to be enormous at the weekend. So, I'm not sure we'll get that much learning about the team we're playing against from the URC.”

South Africa v Scotland teams

Nations Championship, Loftus Versfeld, Saturday, 4.40pm BST:

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi; 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Canan Moodie; 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier; 1 Boan Venter, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 3 Wilco Louw, 4 Cobus Wiese, 5 Ruan Nortje, 6 Paul de Villiers, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Evan Roos. Replacements: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Quan Horn.

Scotland: 15 Kyle Rowe; 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (capt), 11 Jamie Dobie; 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Gregor Brown, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Jack Dempsey. Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21, Magnus Bradbury, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Stafford McDowall.

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France).