At a World Cup, which is governed by World Rugby, Erasmus would run foul of tournament rules.<\/p>\n
World Rugby regulations state that teams can only make changes to their line-ups within 48 hours before a test for genuine medical reasons.<\/p>\n
The rules stipulate: \u201c48 hours prior to the kickoff of an international match the participating unions must announce and exchange a list of the 15 players who will start the match and up to eight replacements\/substitutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry series is, however, a joint venture between the New Zealand and South African rugby unions. The series has no ties to the Rugby Championship, either, which sidelines any Sanzaar rules that govern that tournament.<\/p>\n
This caveat effectively allows Erasmus to exploit the grey areas, and live by his own rules.<\/p>\n
The All Blacks gather to face the Springboks in the second test in Cape Town. Photo \/ SmartFrame<\/p>\n
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie brushed off Erasmus\u2019 switching players tactics<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWe stuck with the team we named. It doesn\u2019t worry me at all,\u201d Rennie said. \u201cThey named theirs on Monday. It had no bearing on the team we named, so no drama from my perspective. Regardless of who they name on Monday, the game plan is going to be similar.\u201d<\/p>\n In Cape Town, Erasmus\u2019 ploy wasn\u2019t overly influential. He injected prop Ox Nche and hooker Malcolm Marx<\/a>, who were originally slated to start the match, just before half-time as the Springboks prepared to pack down a scrum 5m out from the All Blacks line. <\/p>\n The Boks won the resulting scrum, with Nche earning a penalty against Tyrel Lomax. They put down another scrum, and Boks captain Siya Kolisi scored.<\/p>\n Otherwise, though, the All Blacks scrum largely held firm to negate Erasmus\u2019 late foxing.<\/p>\n The scrum battle again erupted into a war of words after the Boks\u2019 33-26 second test victory as Erasmus took great exception to claims that his front row, Nche in particular, is using illegal tactics<\/a> to take the scrum off centre, walk around and target tighthead prop Lomax.<\/p>\n Erasmus\u2019 agitated rant hasn\u2019t deterred the All Blacks from holding firm on their views, though, with scrum coach Jason Ryan maintaining their position. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of friendly fire, isn\u2019t it? There\u2019s been some interesting comments made in the media but that\u2019s the pressure of test footy and that\u2019s what it\u2019s about in a way,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe direction World Rugby want is really clear \u2013 you\u2019ve got to scrum square and not step left. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve been working on. We\u2019ve had some rewards for that, and some we haven\u2019t. We\u2019ll keep focusing on what we need to do to keep square. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to concentrate on what we need to get better on. Second tests are always that little bit harder. Everyone knows that bit more about each other. They probably found out a couple more things about us and got the right end of the score.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the late changes, Ryan echoed Rennie\u2019s views.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s dirty pool. Traditionally, when we\u2019ve played South Africa, if a team is named at the start of the week it often changes. We\u2019ve got to prepare the best we can for who might be there and who might not be. <\/p>\n \u201cThe example with the front row boys: they kept the same ones, they just reversed them with starting and finishing. We\u2019d prepared either way round. That\u2019s up to them how they want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike the first test<\/a>, where the Boks savoured supreme dominance for 50 minutes, the scrums were largely a non-factor in the second test result. On this occasion, the All Blacks\u2019 shaky lineout proved much more problematic. <\/p>\n As this series sits outside World Rugby\u2019s official jurisdiction, though, more Erasmus antics are certain. <\/p>\n Liam Napier<\/a> is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Listen to Elliott Smith\u2019s live commentary on Newstalk ZB Sport and iHeartRadio, or join the Alternative Commentary Collective on iHeartRadio and Radio Hauraki.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a World Cup, which is governed by World Rugby, Erasmus would run foul of tournament rules. 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