When Conrad met Erasmus, and ideas flowed

When Conrad met Erasmus, and ideas flowed

Shukri Conrad and Rassie Erasmus share similarities, being straightforward and unvarnished. Both translate elite-level sport into understandable terms.

Erasmus has something Conrad doesn't: two World Cup triumphs as coach and director of rugby. Conrad, South Africa's men's white-ball coach, has the opportunity to make history in the WTC final against Australia at Lord's next month.

Conrad and Erasmus met to exchange ideas and have stayed in touch. They saw each other again at the Boks' alignment camp, geared to ensuring everyone is on the same page going into the coming rugby season.

Conrad said, "They must be doing a lot of things right, and we'd like to see what they're doing right… It's great just rubbing shoulders across different codes."

Erasmus could learn from Erasmus how not to use a laptop screen. During their collaboration, Erasmus explained that he had to have secret cortisone injections because he had fractured a bone in his foot but wanted to keep playing.

The exercise isn't about handing down lessons. It's about finding key similarities. Conrad said, "Chatting to some of the players and coaches and then listening to the presentation that Rassie and the coaches did, there were common threads that we find across both codes."

Conrad finds it interesting that playing for the Springboks has got to be the biggest thing. Playing for the Proteas has to be the biggest thing. It's a pertinent point in the franchise era.

Beating Australia at Lord's next month would do the same for him. The opportunity to do so is edging ever closer. Conrad said, "It used to be a month away. It's now next week that we leave for the UK for what is our biggest final ever, I'd like to think."