South Africa’s director Rassie Erasmus speaks during a press conference at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, on October 10, 2023, as part of the France 2023 Rugby World Cup. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
Leighton Koopman
Being the head coach of the Springboks is a massive honour for Rassie Erasmus, he loves the team and South Africa, and it made it easy for him to take up the coaching role again.
The day he can't contribute to SA rugby and the fans want him out is the day he knows it is time to go.
But until then, Erasmus has already put the plans in motion that will, hopefully, come to fruition in 2027 in Australia where the end goal will be to successfully defend their title as world champions for a third consecutive Rugby World Cup tournament.
Rassie Erasmus: “This is a watershed year for South African rugby ... and it’s our job to make sure that everything remains on track on the field” - more here: https://t.co/idYt33W8ix 😤#Springboks #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/qNmTQyXAY7
— Springboks (@Springboks) March 12, 2024
Although there will be pressure, starting from the first Test in 2024, Erasmus has embraced it as he looks to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time as head coach.
"The highs (of being the coach) are flippen high, and the lows are very low, but you just can't take the highs away when you see people's eyes and you see the gratitude," Erasmus said, when explaining what made him return to the sometimes unforgiving role as Bok mentor.
"It does not matter how much pressure there is. I am one of those guys who believe that if you love something so much but can't contribute anymore, then you must step away.
"I won't beg for my job, but if I am not good enough and the fans want me out, it is time to go.
"But at this time, I am so in love with this country and the way we do things and support the Springboks, that I can't think of a nicer job to have with all the pressure it comes with.
"That pressure will come, and people will get upset at times, but I've seen this movie before and I like this movie."
Mark Alexander, SA Rugby president, added that it was vital to keep the continuity for the Springboks because after every World Cup cycle, they changed the coaching set-up, and continuity was lost when a new coach stepped in.
That is why Erasmus received the reins again as the Boks look to go three in a row at the 2027 tournament.
"We changed after every tournament since 2007, and a new coach came in with new plans, and there is no continuity, that is why we struggled to win a World Cup in that period," Alexander told Independent Newspapers.
"We invested a lot of money into our coaches, and we changed a lot. That was part of our problem in 2016 when we had no succession plan. Even when it came to the players.
"In 2015, we only had 17 players on contract. To date, we have 54 players on contract in Fifteens, 45 players for the women, and 29 for Sevens. That is over 100 players. Think about that pipeline, we have experienced and young players. There is continuity.
"Similarly with our coaches. Part of Rassie's succession plan is that we need to identify who is the next coach. It might not be here, but we have people in the system we can build on."
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