The Rise of Rassie
by Ben Karpinski
Contrary to the beliefs of some Northern Hemisphere rugby tragics and keyboard warriors, the Springboks were not lucky to have won the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Instead this team achieved one of rugby’s greatest feats through a definite formula for success. One man’s formula for success which has been twenty years in the making.
Let’s settle into a whirlwind look at how Johan “Rassie” Erasmus went from mercurial South African rugby player to national hero, why his coaching journey sheds more light on the current Springbok success, and how he was destined to be the man behind this.
In 2007 the Springboks, under the guidance of Jake White, won their second Rugby World Cup. With a team made up of what turned out to be generational stars, they took advantage of a favourable tournament draw to raise the trophy that year. After that however, it’s fair to say that no Bok coach really took the team forward with much authority. De Villiers, Meyer, Coetzee; they all had their plans, but none of them got the formula right.
In hindsight that naturally sounds a little harsh. They were all honourable men with the best intentions at heart, but perhaps they were all destined to be nearly men in the greater scheme of things. These coaches were essentially hired help, and were on the back of a long line of Bok staff that always felt like they were on borrowed time. This was the way of the system.
Steadily the Boks went into decline over their collective tenures. Throughout this decline though, Rassie Erasmus began a slow and measured rise to the top job in SA rugby. To understand how this came about we need to go further back. Capped 36 times for the Springboks in a professional career that lasted almost 10 years, Rassie naturally had a great understanding of the game and South African rugby in general. After retiring from playing in 2003, he instantly started his coaching journey with Free State in the Vodacom Cup of 2004. The next year he stepped up to coaching the Cheetahs Currie Cup team and immediately secured their first title since 1976.
He retained the Currie Cup the following season and made great strides with the Cheetahs in Super Rugby. In 2007 he left to join the Bok team for the first time as a technical advisor. That tenure was however cut short as he took up the opportunity of being director of rugby at Western Province, along with taking the Stormers head coach role for the 2008 Super Rugby season.
Again these moves led to franchise success, but it was already clear this was building into a different and bigger kind of success. Erasmus went on to become senior head coach of the entire region in 2009, with Allister Coetzee being the conventional head coach of the Stormers and Western Province. The union flourished in this time under this new structure led by Rassie. Off the back of this, Erasmus joined the Springboks as technical advisor at the heartbreakingly bizarre 2011 Rugby World Cup. From there he was meant to return to the Cape, but instead became the general manger of high performance teams in SA rugby under then Bok coach Heyneke Meyer. A role that saw him assisting Meyer in Bok training camps.
His ultimate goal was naturally to be the future Springbok head coach, but knowing what we now know about Rassie, you get the impression that he wanted to be the head of the whole show. Thus he was building a broad base of experience, knowledge and understanding of how to achieve that using his career progression as a springboard.
In 2016 he went further afield, taking up the role of Munster Director of Rugby in Ireland. Erasmus again took on a dual role of rugby director and head coach following the death of then head coach Anthony Foley. For three seasons Rassie was again hugely successful, implementing his formulas, building culture, and creating a team that made the best of its resources. He then confirmed his departure from Munster at the end of 2017 to become Director of SA Rugby, a newly created role.
The timing was somewhat ideal. The Boks had reached a terminal point in their decline and all the mutterings at the time suggested Rassie was positioning himself to return the team to their former glory. He started his new role in December, Allister Coetzee was then sacked on March 1st 2018, making Erasmus director of rugby and head coach of the Springboks - a combined responsibility he has become very familiar with. His journey was now complete.
All things considered, not only was he now the right man for the job, but he was also in a position to do things as he wanted. None of his predecessors really had this luxury. He had control of his destiny, and it was absolutely by design. This was only the very beginning though. Upon taking control of the team there was much to be done and the first few months were tough. A year out from the 2019 Rugby World Cup the Boks were ranked 7th in the world but Rassie, who had been working towards this opportunity for years, set about righting the ship.
He knew the kind of players he wanted to be successful, and he knew where they were in the system. He made Siya Kolisi Springbok captain as this was the man he believed would take this new era forward on the field. He started to get his combinations together and worked on creating a large diversely skilled player base to give him the best possible options for his game plan. It was still far from perfect of course and the results were initially mixed, but he was moving forward.
As much as he was in charge of his destiny, he still had the major pressure to deliver on his promise. He needed a big win. He needed something huge for his team. This happened when in September 2018 his developing team beat the All Blacks in Wellington 36-34. This was the first Springbok win on New Zealand soil in almost a decade and it gave many the belief that Rassie was indeed the right man for the job, and that something special was starting for the Boks.
By the time the 2019 World Cup rolled around the Boks were not considered serious contenders for the trophy. That was fine as Rassie’s plan was still in its early stages. Early stages that saw an opening game loss to tournament favourites New Zealand. However with each game thereafter the squad showed their depth and class. The Bomb Squad quickly went from concept to practice; forward dominance and maintaining intensity for 80 mins with super conditioned players was not something their opponents could live with.
The Springboks suddenly found themselves in the final, not given much chance against a rampant England who had demolished the ever dangerous All Blacks during their semi final. Regardless, just as in Wellington the year before, something magical happened. A conservative team arm wrestling their opponents into submission were suddenly playing with freedom and it was glorious to see. The Boks absolutely destroyed the English 32-12. From 7th in the world to Rugby World Cup champions in 12 months. This was not luck, it was a masterclass in preparation and execution that started all the way back in 2004.
This early and somewhat unexpected success allowed Rassie to spend the next four years really kicking on with his group of players and masterplan. For the first time in Springbok rugby history, the team seemed to have a plan in place for all eventualities. Covid hit and a strange British and Irish Lions test series behind closed doors took place, but Rassie and then head coach Jacques Nienaber had a plan, and the team got through. He courted controversy and suffered disciplinary action in this stretch that saw him sidelined, however he was now the master in control which meant he had systems in place to make sure the show went on.
All of his experience, all of his innovation and developing of insights around the evolving modern game meant that the Boks were always in the game, and always building as a unit. So when it came to the 2023 World Cup knockout stages, Rassie and his entire team could field the most capped Springbok playing team ever with huge confidence. Each and every one of those men knew their role, and knew that they had prepared for victory.
On the back of perhaps the ultimate coaching long game in rugby, Rassie knew that back to back Rugby World Cup wins were in their grasp. 1 point or 10 points, that doesn’t matter now of course. That team was never going to get beaten on that night. The All Blacks weren’t just up against a well coached team of battle hardened players. They were up against a well thought out system built for success. That is what led to the fourth Web Ellis victory we witnessed less than 2 weeks ago.
Where to from here? Well Rassie is going to resume his role at head coach of the Boks as Nienaber steps down. On the back of what he has achieved in the last 5 years, this seems like the most natural thing. Such a move would have been unheard of in years gone by. Coaches were always fired and hired, but to the chagrin of many detractors Rassie runs the show. A show which is really quite the impressive feat looking back now.
Like all maverick leaders, Rassie will have his critics, and he has naturally made mistakes but he was never scared to do so, and he always backed himself in getting it right in the end. As fans we have so much to be proud of on the back of this latest Rugby World Cup win, and the players deserve all the credit that comes to them, but you can’t help but feel this is all possible because Rassie didn’t just want to be another Springbok coach - he wanted to dedicate himself to getting the system right, the outcome of which was always going to be unfettered success.
Ben Karpinski provides live sports insights every Friday morning on the Gareth Cliff Show on CliffCentral.com, and can also be followed on X @FollowTheBounce.