House of pain: Erasmus and Nienaber return to the scene of their decisive moment

Letter from Cape Town: As interested spectators in 2017, the Springboks current brains trust were both horrified and galvinised by what they saw

DOWN TO EARTH WITH A BANG: Ireland vs South Africa Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale tackles Dillyn Leyds of South Africa. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

THE last time Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber sat in the Aviva to watch the Springboks play, it was as interested spectators in 2017.

What they saw both horrified and galvanised them. Ireland, probably at the peak of the Joe Schmidt era, dismantled the disorganised and flailing Boks 38-3. It was the match that sealed Springbok coach Allister Coetzee’s fate.