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14th July 2025
12:07pm BST
Even in the middle of a Lions tour of Australia, South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus knows how to make the headlines.
On Saturday, the Springboks’ bizarre innovations dominated their win 45-0 over Italy, with a purposeful foul from kick-off to cause a scrum.
From a kick-off, South Africa intentionally didn’t reach the 10-metre line with the kick, resulting in a scrum to Italy. We saw a similar piece of work in the 2023 World Cup, when they opted for a scrum off a mark when playing France.
Later in the match, South Africa tried a line-out maul in field which resulted in a try, and Erasmus has revealed he saw that particular move in an Under-14s B-team match.
“Many team do different tactical moves," Erasmus said. "We actually saw it from a B-side U14s school team doing it. You just get all the benefits from what you get in the line-out, you actually get it if you support a guy in general play. So it works for us twice, and obviously now people will be alert for that."
But some eagle-eyed fans on social media are claiming the move actually came in an Under-19s B/C-team match, performed by Paul Roos Gimnasium against Durbanville earlier this year.
The move is legal, with Law 9.26 of the game reading: “In open play, any player may lift or support a team-mate. Players who do so must lower that player to the ground safely as soon as the ball is won by either team.”
The player lifted is also protected from being tackled until they hit the ground.
Wherever it came from, Erasmus continues to cause debate and surprise in the game.
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