McKenzie wary of Rassie factor
Mon, 05 May 2008 16:39
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie is wary of his Stormers counterpart, the astute Rassie Erasmus, ahead of a crucial Round 13 Super 14 clash at Newlands on Saturday.
If the Waratahs are to beat the Stormers, they know they will have to crack the mindset of Erasmus before they can break his players.
Erasmus is widely regarded as a coach who thinks out of the box - a trait that is entertaining to all but his opponents.
The Waratahs were reminded of that last year when he coached the Cheetahs who beat them 30-26 at Kimberley after a week in which Erasmus kept the Waratahs guessing.
There were the regular sightings of Cheetahs spies at Waratahs training, banter over Erasmus's use of a colour lighting system to communicate to his players during games, and his age-old love of announcing one team midweek then changing it an hour before deadline.
It is not surprising the Waratahs have learned to be wary of any game involving Erasmus, considering their warm-up was hampered by pre-match parachutists landing in their 22-metre as they ran drills, followed by the arrival of motorbikes - one of which nearly ran into 'Tahs doctor Sharron Flahive - and that during the game the Cheetahs mascot whacked Waratahs physiotherapist Stu Pavely.
"Rassie [Erasmus] always has some surprises," McKenzie told rugbyheaven.com.au.
Recently, McKenzie said one of the joys of coaching was the challenge of battling it out each week with a different opposing coach.
Against Erasmus, the challenge is right up there.
McKenzie was chuffed that he managed to crack Erasmus's colour code before Erasmus could use it to any effect in the Waratahs-Cheetahs game last season.
"We went and watched them play [against the Bulls the week before]," McKenzie said. "We knew what they were going to do when we played the Cheetahs. It wasn't hard to convert.
"I don't know if he uses the [lights] box any more. He is pretty creative. There is a method in his play but he always has something creative. We have to have our wits about us," added mcKenzie.
McKenzie rates the Stormers very highly, as he should considering they within two points of the 'Tahs.
With the Stormers attracting crowds in excess of 45,000 of late, McKenzie's men will need to deal with the electric atmosphere of Newlands.
"It is sure to be a big crowd," McKenzie said.
"That is going to be one of the hardest things to prepare for, getting the blokes to understand what that is like.
"It is a very difficult place to hear. I had a couple of games here in the World Cup in 1995, and it's tough to hear line-out calls. You have to modify your calling process," added the coach.
Would McKenzie consider putting his charges through a crash course in sign language?
"We won't do it," he said. "We looked at doing it. In baseball they do it all the time."
