Durban — Whatever the reasons were, Springbok rugby was in dire straits when Rassie Erasmus took over as head coach in 2018.
Under his predecessor’s tutelage, the Boks lost all four games played against the All Blacks in that time, and lost three out of four against Australia. The All Blacks twice scored more than 50 points against the Boks, who went on to lose a calendar-year record eight Tests. These included losses at home to Ireland, away to Argentina and to Italy for the first time.
Many will remember the bitter humiliation of the 57-15 record home loss to New Zealand in Durban. It is no exaggeration to say that national rugby was in a crisis and in need of a saviour.
Come Erasmus – and Siya Kolisi – and a huge turnaround resulted in the 2019 World Cup win in Japan, and again in France last year.
The now Dr Erasmus, after receiving an honorary doctorate this week, says the Boks’ success was due in part to gaining the trust of his players, giving them the confidence to try new things, and the freedom to express themselves.
But there was no place for complacency in the camp either, with performance management in place in the SA Rugby set-up.
Twice World Cup-winning captain Kolisi, a no less inspirational figure himself, and who will no doubt receive similar, well-deserved honours in time, says Erasmus made the players respect the jersey and made them understand that they were playing for the country, and not for themselves.
Erasmus ensured that all voices in the team were heard, and all communication was public; there was no special treatment and no hidden agendas.
It is only because of the efforts of men like Erasmus and Kolisi that the country can dream of pulling off what would be a historic “threepeat” come the next World Cup.
Looking to the elections, it is our forlorn hope that the new government will learn from the Erasmus and Bok example, and govern in the interests of the country, with transparency and without hidden agendas.
Independent on Saturday