‘Rassie Erasmus is a copycat’

South African coach Franco Smith has jokingly rebuked comparisons between himself and Springboks chief Rassie Erasmus.

South African Franco Smith — who is being touted as the next head coach of the Scottish Test team — has reaffirmed his status as one of the best coaches in world rugby by guiding his Glasgow Warriors team to unprecedented success in recent months and weeks.

Just this past weekend, he was lauded to his unorthodox selection of a 7-1 bench split for the Warriors’ Champions Cup showdown against European giants Toulon.

The controversial, but highly effective 7-1 bench is the brainchild of Smith’s countryman Rassie Erasmus, who introduced the tactic to the world when he first utilised it at Test level with the Springboks.

When asked about using the Springboks’ 7-1 bench blueprint, Smith jokingly said that the tactic was originally his rather than Erasmus’.

“I’m disappointed that you are comparing me with Rassie Erasmus!” said the Warriors head coach. “I think we’ve shown over the last two-and-a-half years that he’s copying us, isn’t he?

“I said from the start [of his Warriors tenure] that my philosophy is to pick the players that are going to be on the field in the last 20 minutes first. That is the part of the game where nobody goes to the fridge to get another beer.

“At the same time, it allows us to rotate the squad with an eye on the numerous high-quality games that are still to come. But this is not the bomb squad being copied. I think the Rassie Erasmus bomb squad was copied from us!”

IS RASSIE ERASMUS THE GREATEST SPRINGBOK COACH EVER?

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