NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

Rugby: Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus releases behind the scenes team talk during World Cup

NZ Herald
10 Feb, 2020 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rassie Erasmus shares behind the scenes team talk where he admits to 'being an ****hole' in his playing days. VIDEO / Rassie Erasmus via twitter
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

By Ian Cameron of RugbyPass.com

Former Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has released another one of his Rugby World Cup team talks, in which he admitted that he had been 'an ****hole' in his playing days.

Erasmus shared the video on his Twitter account and it's gone down well in rugby circles.

READ MORE:
• Super Rugby: Jordie Barrett boots Dan Carter from history books with insane penalty kick
• Rugby: Eddie Jones opens up on his controversial pre-match comments
• Super Rugby: Coaches push back - Chiefs boss Warren Gatland joins the call for change to All Black rules
• Rugby: The rule that will be trialled in Super Rugby

Erasmus, who has been linked with succeeding Eddie Jones for the England job, gave the speech during Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Some guys understand – 'shit, I must keep on sacrificing' – these are the guys, those that we say are has-beens, because they don't play a lot of rugby long, those entitled ones.

"This is that ownership part. You take ownership of this whole thing. S***, I'm always going to sacrifice. I'm honoured, I'm desperate, I get the reward, but s***, I'm taking ownership of this thing.

"I went through two years, and I said it to the Stormers last year, when nobody told me, 'you're being an absolute d***'. I was player of the year, good contract, great money. I was starting every Test match, we were winning 17 Test matches in a row; but a guy called Harry Viljoen, who was a businessman who didn't follow rugby.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He eventually came in and had to just drop me. Then my buddies started telling. I was like 'why is that guy dropping me? [and they said], 'because you're an ****hole.'

"Because you're so entitled Rassie. You're a little bit of a virus in the team. You're getting everything but you're moaning about training sessions'. I was such a bad person that my wife also told me that.

"So if you don't take ownership yourself about this…this ownership is also about the team.

As I found out the hard way (entitled) pic.twitter.com/A0bRyj0W6P

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) February 10, 2020

"If you don't have the balls to tell one of your teammates 'hey, you're being a d***, you're being an arsehole' in this entitled mode, then you're also still not taking ownership.

Discover more

Super Rugby

Chris Rattue: The fools who killed Super Rugby

10 Feb 02:00 AM
Super Rugby

'Thanks for your honesty': All Black's act of sportsmanship stuns ref

10 Feb 02:00 AM
Super Rugby

Razor's edge: Why upbeat Blues are preparing for backlash

10 Feb 04:00 AM
Sport|rugby

Watch: The truth behind Eddie Jones' trash-talking tactics

10 Feb 05:10 PM

"Boys, this is something that I'm going to show you later, this is a big part of our team selection. You can be the most brilliant rugby player, but if you're this entitled person, and I'm not saying that there's a s***load of you sitting here, then you're going to go through that."

Might be interesting to some of you that there is more to team selection to just what you do on the field (2 videos) pic.twitter.com/dqtSdmVPKC

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) February 10, 2020

This article first appeared on RugbyPass.com and has been republished with permission

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Sport

'Devastated': Liverpool star Diogo Jota killed in car crash aged 28

03 Jul 08:38 AM
Premium
Opinion

Gregor Paul: The All Blacks' bold selection shake-up to become 'killers'

03 Jul 03:42 AM
Motorsport

'Got to dream': Paddon hopeful of launching WRC team

03 Jul 03:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'Devastated': Liverpool star Diogo Jota killed in car crash aged 28

'Devastated': Liverpool star Diogo Jota killed in car crash aged 28

03 Jul 08:38 AM

Spanish media report the Portuguese forward died alongside his brother.

Premium
Gregor Paul: The All Blacks' bold selection shake-up to become 'killers'

Gregor Paul: The All Blacks' bold selection shake-up to become 'killers'

03 Jul 03:42 AM
'Got to dream': Paddon hopeful of launching WRC team

'Got to dream': Paddon hopeful of launching WRC team

03 Jul 03:00 AM
‘Shown their class’: Robertson backs All Blacks rookies for French debut

‘Shown their class’: Robertson backs All Blacks rookies for French debut

03 Jul 01:00 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP