View from South Africa: Rassie Erasmus has transformed Springboks in weird and wonderful ways

Weird and wonderful. Delightfully unusual.

How else could you describe the “Rassie phenomenon” that has radically transformed Springbok rugby?

The Boks coach plotting Ireland’s downfall in the two-Test series kicking off at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday has provided more than his fair share of fireworks on the world stage over the past six years. Little wonder, perhaps, since Johan “Rassie” Erasmus was born 51 years ago on Guy Fawkes Day.

Erasmus has transformed the South African game in more ways than one. Not only has he, in his capacity as coach (2019) and director of rugby (2023) respectively, guided the Boks to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, but he has more than anyone else helped to legitimately change the face of the game in the erstwhile “apartheid” republic.

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The North-West University in Potchefstroom took notice and earlier this year awarded an honorary doctorate to Erasmus.

“His commitment to inclusivity and transformation in sport has not only revitalised rugby but has also served as a powerful symbol of reconciliation and unity in a nation with a complex history. Under his guidance, the Springboks not only achieved rugby greatness, but also became a unifying force, bringing together people of all backgrounds and beliefs,” the university observed upon bestowing the honour on Erasmus.

Thus, he can rightfully be addressed as “Dr Erasmus” nowadays.

Another doctor and hallowed rugby figure of yesteryear, Dr Danie Craven, aka “Mr Rugby”, was known for the occasional offbeat and contentious statement and once famously proclaimed: “We can change South Africa on the rugby field.”

That is exactly what Erasmus is busy achieving.

After all, his motto is: “If you want to achieve something you’ve never achieved before, you must do something you’ve never done before.”

I would go so far as to say that not since the late Danie “Doc” Craven has South Africa produced a figure as influential or charismatic on the rugby front as Erasmus.

Craven, like Erasmus, was a Bok hero on the playing field before turning his energies towards coaching. He piloted South Africa to a whitewash of the All Blacks in 1949 and on their historic Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in 1951, before becoming president of SA Rugby for almost 40 years.

He was inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame in 2007; his daughter, Joan Roux, had the following to say about Craven: “My father was an amazing man. He had integrity. He knew the game. He was innovative. He was a raconteur. He was a coach. He was often impatient with journalists and referees. But he could inspire. Above all, he loved the game of rugby. He said it brought people together. It brought and brings our nation together. We need the game of rugby. It gives us hope for the future.”

[ South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus turns on the charm ahead of Test against Ireland ]

The above wording can be used verbatim as Erasmus’s citation for the day when he does get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

With his intimate knowledge of the game and tactical acumen never in question, Erasmus has become renowned the rugby world over for his innovation, which often seems to defy reason.

From unleashing his infamous Bomb Squad to inflict decisive damage in the second half to the extravagant use of “traffic lights” to signal messages to his charges on the field, Erasmus has never been scared to boldly go where no coach has gone before.

This somewhat debonair approach ties in with Rassie the raconteur. Just this past week, Erasmus again had the international media contingent in Pretoria in stitches during press conferences with his quirky take on even the most mundane aspects pertaining to his team’s preparations and selections.

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The thing with Erasmus is that he simply speaks his mind, and it invariably makes for an intriguing narrative. Of course, his love-hate relationship with both the media and officialdom is also well known.

Akin to his nerve when it comes to innovation, Erasmus is also fearless in his pursuit of justice and, in true Donald Trump fashion, has no hesitation in taking to social media to vent his frustrations. This has landed him in hot water, such as the two-month ban he copped from World Rugby for posting a video that exposed Australian referee Nic Berry’s handling of the first Test between the Boks and British & Irish Lions in 2021.

Getting back to the Craven analogy, South Africa’s captain of the victorious Grand Slam tour in 1951, the great Hennie Muller, was also quoted by World Rugby saying that Craven’s chief asset as a successful coach was the fact that he understood his players so well – “their foibles, fears, hopes, their innermost thoughts. He is able to put himself in the players’ boots.”

This is probably the predominant parallel between Danie Craven and Rassie Erasmus.

In his autobiography, simply entitled Rassie, Erasmus inadvertently yet profoundly echoes the above sentiments by Muller.

“If you don’t talk with the players regularly, there’s a lack of communication and they don’t have a chance to discuss issues that are bothering them. They start imagining things, and soon the devil is in their head ...”

Another celebrated Craven quote reads: “A game of rugby is a work of art.”

My Kiwi mate, All Blacks legend and mastermind behind the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand (IRANZ) Murray Mexted, takes that philosophy a step further, suggesting that “coaching is an art form”.

If that is the case, then Erasmus must be rated as the Pablo Picasso of coaching.

With his distinct style and eye for “artistic” and innovative coaching, Erasmus has always stayed true to his roots, as one of his predecessors as Bok coach, Heyneke Meyer, observes in his book My Notes on Leadership and Life. “What resulted in the Springboks’ World Cup victory in 2019 was not just meticulous preparation and lengthy training camps, but a focus on those aspects of our game that make South Africans uniquely voracious – power and work ethic. Or, as Rassie said to his players, ‘Let the main thing be the main thing.’”

Physicality has always been a hallmark of Springbok rugby, and this trademark, whether it be at scrum or ruck time, paved the way like seldom before for South Africa’s back-to-back brilliance on the World Cup stage.

Yet Rassie Erasmus is painting a far bigger picture.

Rassie brings the nation together. South Africa needs Rassie. Rassie gives hope for the future.