Rassie Erasmus has a plan to get older Springboks to the World Cup

Mike Greenaway

BURLY Sharks and Springbok centre Andre Esterhuizen has opened up on Rassie Erasmus’s coaching style and says there is a plan to get most of the ageing squad to the next World Cup.

The wily Erasmus began 2024 by rejuvenating his coaching staff. He brought in Kiwi Tony Brown to manage the attack and Irishman Jerry Flannery to coach the defence.

It was a productive year for the Boks. They won 11 of their 13 matches while introducing fresh blood – Erasmus used 50 players over the course of the year.

Esterhuizen told The Rugby Pod that while Erasmus trusts his assistants to do a good job, he oversees everything.

“He coaches a lot through the coaches if you understand what I mean,” Esterhuizen said. “So when Tony comes in to do the attack, everything has gone through Rassie already. He manages the coaches well and then they coach us.

“Then, he is great with getting the players up for every game. It depends on what team we play but there will always be a little bit of history thrown at us or he will think of something to get the guys up for the game.”

South African rugby is unique in that provincial rugby is played in European competitions but the Springboks remain in the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship. The problem with having a foot in each hemisphere is that the top players play all year and have no off-season.

But Esterhuizen says that Erasmus’s ploy of expanding the player pool means the 30-somethings in the Boks squad have the occasional break. By sparing them from full-time slog, Erasmus is giving the older players a shot at making the 2027 World Cup.

“In terms of managing players, it’s mandatory for every player to get eight weeks off during a season, like four completely off and then active resting weeks,” explained Esterhuizen, who is out of rugby for three months with a knee injury.

“Also, now that Rassie has brought in some rotation with 50 players in one season, that brings a lot more experience through to younger players experiencing Test-level rugby for the three years leading up to the next World Cup, which is great.

“And for me, if you only play every second Test, it rests the body and helps some of the older guys get to the next World Cup.” The 30-year-old Esterhuizen is not the Boks’ first-choice centre.

The No.12 jersey is mostly in the possession of Damian de Allende, so Esterhuizen is not overplayed at Test level. But he understands why superstars such as Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi are in danger of incurring fatigue. “For me, it’s a bit different than to say Eben or someone like that. He played 13 Tests this season,” he said.

“I played two, then got injured, then only one on the end-of-year tour too. Yes, I was still part of the travelling team and still trained the three or four weeks so it is tough to find the time to get off and get a bit of time away from rugby.

“I think most of the boys are resting now in February for five weeks but if you don’t manage it well, it can be bad. At the moment we’re still trying to find the balance between when to play and when to rest.”

February is the ideal month for the Boks to be rested as the European club competitions take a break for the Six Nations tournament.