{"id":596312,"date":"2026-09-10T18:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/596312\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T18:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:26:15","slug":"justin-marshall-rassie-erasmus-influencing-dave-rennie-quite-a-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/596312\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Marshall: Rassie Erasmus influencing Dave Rennie ‘quite a lot’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Marshall believes that Rassie Erasmus\u2019 full-bore selection will determine how Dave Rennie approaches the final Springboks<\/a> v All Blacks clash.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s head coach has opted to make just two changes \u2013 one of those injury-enforced \u2013 for their encounter in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

Rassie rotation<\/p>\n

Erasmus<\/a> is never afraid to rotate, even in the biggest Tests, but he has generally opted for continuity over the past few weeks.<\/p>\n

It paid off in the Cape Town and Soweto matches, with the Boks<\/a> claiming successive victories to go 2-1 up.<\/p>\n

They are looking to secure a series triumph this weekend in the only game which will be taking place on neutral territory.<\/p>\n

Marshall was duly asked, on Sport Nation, how much Rennie<\/a> would be influenced by Erasmus\u2019 selection this weekend; he responded: \u201cQuite a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former scrum-half then added: \u201cIf I\u2019m Rassie Erasmus, why would I give Dave Rennie and the All Blacks<\/a> a bone? At the moment, they are leading this series and why would they give them any sniff of an opportunity by making dramatic changes and changing combinations that are working really well for them?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole chat throughout this Test series has been about the fact that this is the greatest rivalry; this is the best two teams in the world going at each other with everything they\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants to take a backwards step and nobody\u2019s said that much either and nobody\u2019s used excuses. Look, there\u2019s been some crap floating around about the scrums, that always happens when you\u2019re scrummaging against the Springboks.<\/p>\n

\u201cApart from that, the camaraderie, the respect off the field has been there big time but, again, it\u2019s all about making statements on the rugby field and I wasn\u2019t surprised to see Rassie not really make any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave Rennie reveals All Blacks plan to limit Springboks\u2019 scrum dominance as World Rugby disagreement continues after assistant\u2019s \u2018gravy train\u2019 claim<\/a><\/p>\n

All Blacks injuries<\/p>\n

The Springboks certainly have the momentum while the All Blacks have been hit by injuries to key players.<\/p>\n

That includes captain Ardie Savea and two star performers in 2026, Luke Jacobson and Quinn Tupaea, who will all miss the contest in the USA.<\/p>\n

South Africa therefore sense an opportunity to ram home their advantage, according to Marshall, but the All Blacks great insists that the New Zealand players should be inspired by that approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got his foot on the throat at the moment; he will want to keep it there. That\u2019s their DNA, that\u2019s the way they operate, so no let-off for the All Blacks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you put the boots on; \u2018righto, you\u2019re not buttoning off, neither are we let\u2019s go. We can actually come out of this series with a draw and you\u2019re no better than us.\u2019 I go, \u2018righto that\u2019s the challenge I want as a player and an All Black and an All Black coach\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Sir Steve Hansen: What impresses me most about the Springboks and it\u2019s the biggest thing Rassie Erasmus has done<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin Marshall believes that Rassie Erasmus\u2019 full-bore selection will determine how Dave Rennie approaches the final Springboks v…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1463,1464,111,43,139,69,6327,213],"class_list":["post-596312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}