Boks’ Erasmus, who knows Townsend well, wary of Scots’ ‘lekker squad’

The Springboks must be firing on all cylinders if they want to overcome a powerful Scotland side that will be expertly prepared for battle by coach Gregor Townsend, South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said.

The countdown clock is ticking towards the Boks’ World Cup opener against Scotland at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Sunday (kickoff 5.45pm) and Erasmus expects a titanic battle.

Erasmus said his time at Munster in the 2010s gave him an insight into Townsend’s tactics because of their frequent duels at club level in Europe.

“I don’t think a lot of people know that when myself and Jacques Nienaber were at Munster we coached against Gregor when he was at Glasgow [Warriors] and there were four games in one year,” he said.

“There is a close tie and Gregor is really a class coach who always has good plans.

“We know he is a coach who supports players with ball in hand and what people call ‘play what you see’. So there is always a threat with a flyhalf like Finn Russell.

“There is a close connection with defence coach Steve Tandy and we coached against him when he was at the Ospreys. Then there is also scrum coach Pieter de Villiers, who is South African.

“There are also a lot of South African players in the Scottish team and they know our players well.

“All in all, I don’t know why people want to make the one team a favourite and the other an underdog. I don’t think it really changes anything.

“The way Scotland have been building towards this, and when I look at their squad, they have an average age of about 28 and about 38 Test matches per player. So that is a lekker squad.

“I think we will have to be firing on all cylinders to make sure that we get through this one.”

Erasmus said he has not paid attention to the fuss over South Africa’s decision to employ a 7-1 bench split in favour of the forwards when they beat the All Blacks in London.

After utility back Willie le Roux was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury, loose forward Kwagga Smith was included among the substitutes.

“We have been in a bit of a bubble because we are focusing on what we are trying to do and how we can be successful at the World Cup.

“We can’t really care about how other teams are doing it and what their opinions are. We are just staying within the regulations and the laws of the game.

“So for us, it’s about what’s best for our team, what works for us and that certainly won’t be the same from one weekend to the next. I really didn’t pay much attention to [the reaction].

“If it was something that we did wrong, that would have been something that bothered me. We follow all the laws and protocols.

“When I was playing, we only had two reserves. Then it became 22 and then 23 with a full front row [on the bench].

“I know the laws, protocols and regulations really well. If you coach at this level, and work with coaches at this level, you know the laws of the game.

“I guess what I am trying to say, not being arrogant, is it wouldn’t help us take note of all of the hoo-ha because we didn’t do anything wrong.

“I am not surprised, it’s new and people like to chat about that, but I’m not really bothered.”

The Boks arrived at their camp in Toulon on Sunday from Corsica and started with their on-field preparations on Monday.