England warned of ‘dark arts’ ahead of Rugby World Cup showdown with South Africa
To get to the Rugby World Cup final, England must defeat South Africa on Saturday.
Warren Gatland, the Wales coach, has warned England about the “dark arts” of South Africa. Four years after defeating the same opponents in the championship match and winning the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time in their history, the Springboks are ready to play England in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals on Saturday.
Gatland wrote in The Telegraph just days after his Wales team was eliminated from the Rugby World Cup by Argentina in the quarterfinals, “Whisper it, but I think England can beat the Springboks…as long as they don’t let [South Africa director of rugby] Rassie Erasmus control the agenda this week.”
“I have experience competing against the director of rugby for South Africa, so my advise to [England head coach] Steve Borthwick is to make sure he gets out in front and dispels any dark forces.
By predicting on Tuesday who he believes Borthwick’s team will be for the semi-finals, Rassie has already sought to gain an advantage mentally and sow doubt. You must make an effort to match the Springboks’ physical prowess while also being tactically astute and displaying no signs of mental weakness if you want to stand a chance against them.
Rassie Erasmus, the director of rugby for South Africa, has cautioned England about their country’s “dark arts.” Rassie Erasmus faced Gatland when he was in charge of the British & Irish Lions during their tour of South Africa in 2021. Although the Springboks ultimately won the series, the Lions won the first Test match but dropped the following two. The 60-year-old was present when South Africa went to great lengths to win, and he witnessed it firsthand.
Instead, South Africa had a “win-at-all-costs” mentality where all tactics were acceptable to achieve a goal, according to Gatland. “I believe that going forward, we need to keep it in mind and ensure that the rugby community’s honor is maintained.
England has received a Rugby World Cup warning from Warren Gatland, the head coach of Wales.
As a water boy during the games and messenger to his players, Rassie was the first problem we encountered. I cracked a joke about him possibly needing some water in his bottle if he was going to play the role of “water boy.” In the end, World Rugby decided to amend the rules the next year to forbid coaches from using water carriers to reach the field. Even yet, we were still having trouble with their physio sending messages onto the field of play while live play was in progress.
“South Africa continues to challenge the rules of the game in new ways. Who knows what will happen this week, but I expect the Springboks to be troubled by the fact that England made it to the semifinals unnoticed and without having to endure the same grueling testing that Ireland and France did.
