It has been announced by Rassie Erasmus that he will rejoin South Africa as head coach. He will likely oversee the team’s preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027.
This year, Jacques Nienaber led the Springboks to their second consecutive World Cup victory. However, he will now assume a new position with the Irish team Leinster. As director of rugby, Erasmus was a key player in the team’s 2023 victory and will take up his place when South Africa raised the trophy in 2019.
According to a report in the South African publication Rapport, Erasmus will now assume Nienaber’s responsibilities in an attempt to pursue an unprecedented World Cup victory for a record third time in a row. Felix Jones, who worked under Nienaber as an assistant coach, will be joining Steve Borthwick’s England team.
In South Africa, Erasmus is well regarded for his inventiveness, tactical sense, and capacity to extract maximum performance from the players he has at his disposal. Although he was a constant presence on the Springboks side during their title defense in France, the outspoken coach has occasionally courted controversy.
The 51-year-old has drawn criticism for his social media tweets disparaging rivals and for his video criticism of Australian referee Nic Berry following the team’s defeat in the opening test of the 2021 series against the
His capacity to inspire the Springboks both on and off the field when it counts most is, however, undeniable. Four years after winning the World Cup as head coach, Erasmus assumed leadership as director of rugby and led the team to a record-tying fourth World Cup victory, which they sealed with a 12–11 victory over New Zealand in the championship match.
According to former South Africa assistant coach Matt Proudfoot, “where Rassie is very good is looking at the cause of the problem and saying: ‘This is what we need to fix'” (Sport24). “That process is what drives him; he never sleeps looking for that edge.”
