Who better than a former world champion to succeed another world champion? Rassie Erasmus, crowned with South Africa in 2019, will return to the helm of the Springboks, four years after leaving them to his sidekick Jacques Nienaber, who led the team to the back-to-back in Paris. “I can confirm that Rassie Erasmus will combine his roles as director of rugby and coach of the Springboks,” a senior SA Rugby official told AFP.
The strong man of South African rugby, who turns 51 this Sunday, was spoiled for his birthday, being offered for the second time in his life the reins of the now quadruple world champions. By making this choice, which has been in the pipeline for several days, SA Rugby favors stability to take over from Nienaber.
The former deputy of Erasmus, in charge of the defense of his Stormers, Western Province (2008-2014) and Munster (2016-2017) teams, announced several months ago that he was taking charge of the franchise Irish team from Leinster after the World Cup in France. Rassie Erasmus had retained a central role in the Boks staff. Even if he had left the position of coach, the former third row continued to have a significant influence in the choice of men and playing systems.
The innovations and tactical moves he created with Nienaber during the competition further established his domination of world rugby. The Springboks, for example, lined up a bench with seven forwards several times, before surprising everyone, and the French XV in the first place, with only five “big ones” among the replacements during the quarter-final won against the Blues (29 -28).
End of cycle to manage
He will now have to manage the potential end of the cycle of an aging generation and double world champions (2019 and 2023), with a view to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, while many Springbok executives are over 30 years old. He will be able to continue to benefit from his own work, initiated ten years ago when he helped launch the Elite Player Development (EPD) program, aimed at detecting and supporting emerging talents from disadvantaged backgrounds. Siya Kolisi, the first black captain in the history of the Springboks and who lifted the two Webb-Ellis trophies won in 2019 and 2023 by the South Africans, for example comes from this program.