World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin says the game needs “brilliant innovators” like Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.
The two-time World Cup-winning tactician pulled more tricks from his box during the second Test against Italy in Port Elizabeth – manufacturing a scrum from the kick-off and scoring two tries from infield ‘lineout mauls’ – and has vowed the Boks won’t stop innovating in the Rugby Championship.
Gilpin praised Erasmus’ rugby mind, even while acknowledging the at-times strained relationship between the Springbok director of rugby and the governing body.
“My personal view is we need to embrace what Rassie brings to rugby,” Gilpin told Planet Rugby. “I’ve spent time one-on-one with Rassie. We’ve banned him, twice, in my tenure!
“Rassie can be very confronting because he is incredibly passionate about rugby. He is incredibly passionate about what rugby means to the South African public – and his responsibility, as he sees it, in that regard.
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“So that’s challenging and confronting. A bit non-rugby like sometimes. But the guy is a brilliant innovator. What a brilliant thinker of the game he is. You want innovators, don’t you?”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
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