Bright future for Boks if Rassie stays the course

Rassie Erasmus, whose official designation is Director of Rugby at the South African Rugby Union, has doubled up as Springbok coach for the past 20 months. Late in 2018, he made it clear he would not continue the dual role after Rugby World Cup 2019 and in the days leading up to the final he reiterated this.

Considering his manic work ethic and the number of hours he poured into “project Springbok”, it’s no surprise he can't keep up this pace indefinitely.

In addition to the Bok head-coaching role, which is a full-time job in itself, Erasmus also hammered out an entirely new professional contracting model, assisted the Junior Bok and Women’s programme and did dozens of other jobs the position of rugby director demands. Something has to give.

But that doesn’t mean much has to change. Erasmus is two years into a six-year contract in which he set a course not only for the Springboks, but the South African game as a whole. He should consider finishing what he’s started.

Erasmus has taken the Boks to the pinnacle of the game. On Monday, when the new rankings come out, they will be at number one for the first time since 2009. They are now world champions and they also won the Rugby Championship for the first time in a decade.

Yet, because of the rapid turnaround from chumps to champs under Erasmus, it feels as if the project is in its infancy. Winning the World Cup was a magnificent moment, now the challenge is how to move forward.

The next big target on the horizon is retaining the Rugby Championship title in 2020 and continuing the renewed rivalry with the All Blacks, who remain the gold standard in rugby.

In the longer term the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021 — a once-every-12-years occurrence — is an important goal. That series is massive in terms of prestige and commercial value. The Springbok brand is hugely valuable right now and the way to maintain that value is to keep being successful.

In other areas Erasmus is working to make the Junior Boks world champions again, putting structures in place so the Springbok women can become competitive at the top end of the sport and to assist an overall improvement in the South African domestic game.

But it all relies on a successful Springbok team. When the flagship brand is in rude health, other issues tend to recede. Sponsors emerge, injecting vital funds into the game while fans return to stadiums, adding atmosphere, support and money. Children want to play the sport and parents are enthused. It’s a positive spiral, which can easily collapse if the Boks fall down.

There have been too many false dawns after a Rugby World Cup triumph. In 1996, a year after winning the trophy on home soil, the Boks lost a home series to the All Blacks for the first time. In 1997 they lost the series against the British and Irish Lions 2-1. The momentum of 1995 was gone before it had really begun.

In 2008, after winning the 2007 tournament, the Boks lost three times in the Tri-Nations, but they didn’t completely lose track. They dominated the world in 2009, but after that things gradually fell apart and it has been a decade of mediocrity until now.

“When I took over, it was 618 days to the World Cup and we planned the World Cup, to try and win the World Cup,” Erasmus told the media in Yokohama.

“I think it’s now 614 days to the British and Irish Lions and we’ll start planning now for that series.

“What we are trying to do is be consistent now. The thing we were terrible at in 2018, we were up and down. This year, we’ve played 12 games and we’ve lost one, so we’re getting that consistency back.

“And yes, we’ve got the World Cup here, but going into next year, if you lose the first Test match people forget about the World Cup. So we want to get consistency now and work towards the British and Irish Lions, the next World Cup and so on.”

That was a small glimpse into the mindset of this squad. They are driven and focused, with clear objectives and a framework of how to achieve those goals.

The step on the path of making this shining moment in Springbok history last through years of dominance is to have a seamless transition from Erasmus to the next person to coach the Boks.

Captain Siya Kolisi is only 28 and should lead the team through to the British & Irish Lions series and the core of the squad is intact for years to come.

Only a handful of players are unlikely to feature over the next two years — flank Francois Louw, hooker Schalk Brits and perhaps fullback Willie le Roux and No 8 Duane Vermeulen — are likely to give up the international game.

The foundation is solid and there has already been success, so the challenge is now to maintain and raise those standards and continue to win big matches and tournaments.

Erasmus will still be very involved in the Springbok set-up in his role as director of rugby, making the choice of the man officially designated as Springbok coach over the coming years, a crucial one.

Current assistant coach Jacques Nienaber would be the perfect choice as he and Erasmus have been working together for nearly 20 years.

Nienaber is a tactical genius and a tireless worker like Erasmus. Because their relationship is so strong and deep, he would not feel like a “yes man” as official Springbok coach. It would be a dual role with Erasmus, which is what it has been to this point anyway.

In some ways, the change would be that Nienaber spends more time talking to the media. The plotting and planning will continue as it has for the past 20 months because the two are perfectly aligned in their vision.

As director of rugby Erasmus is responsible for the contracting of players and coaches across the SA Rugby spectrum. The Springbok coach falls under that umbrella.

The Boks are on top of the world right now and if Erasmus keeps doing his main job, in his own way, this could be a golden period for Springbok rugby.

The lesson here is: it can come crashing down just as quickly as Erasmus, Kolisi and the squad turned it around. If a proven winner and dedicated leader is not at the helm to steer the team through the euphoria of the moment, towards the next challenge, Rugby World Cup 2019 will become just another happy memory instead of a new dawn. DM