Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus insists he will not engage in a war of words with England’s Eddie Jones ahead of the World Cup final in Yokohama.
South Africa and England will contest the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Yokohama on Saturday, after eliminating Wales and New Zealand in their respective semi-finals.
It will be the fifth meeting between the teams since Erasmus and Jones have taken over as head coaches, with the previous four Tests – all played in 2018 – split even with two wins each.
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The enigmatic Jones has a reputation of instigating verbal fights and playing mind games with his counterparts in the lead-up to Test matches.
But Erasmus, who worked alongside Jones with the Boks in 2007, is confident that it will not be the case this week.
‘Four times we’ve played against Eddie now and prior to every one of those Test matches there’s never been any of those normal discussions via the media between myself and Eddie,’ Erasmus said.
‘I’m expecting very much the same, normal kind of buildup to this Test match as to the ones before. He might surprise us, but I haven’t experienced it before so I’m expecting a normal week.’
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Erasmus did say he expected England to maintain the same suffocating intensity in the final as they played with against the All Blacks.
‘What I do expect from him on the field, is a very well-coached England team, a fit team with a great tactical plan and then obviously the same physicality that they brought against New Zealand, which was just next level,’ Erasmus explained.
‘They must be brimming with confidence. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an England team pitch up with that amount of physicality and I’m sure they are ready to bring that same intensity. We have to be really up for it to try and match that.’
Watch: We’ll have to match their intensity – Rassie
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
