At some stage we are going to live in a post-Rassie Erasmus Springbok era… And what will be the plan then? Ask Jon Cardinelli.
Where would South African rugby be without the great Rassie Erasmus?
The former Springbok flanker took the head coaching reins in 2018, when the national side languished in sixth place in the World Rugby rankings and proceeded to make various tactical changes.
As director of rugby, he implemented a series of structural alterations across the respective age-groups, and worked tirelessly to align the provinces for the good of South African rugby. Fast forward to the present.
The Springboks have claimed two Rugby Championship titles, a series victory against the British & Irish Lions, and back-to-back World Cups over the past seven years – and sit at the top of the world rankings.
The franchises have made an impact since SA Rugby moved its teams to Europe, with at least one South Africa team qualifying for each of the three United Rugby Championship finals staged to date, and the Stormers winning the inter-continental tournament in 2022.
The good news for South African fans is that there may be more success to come.
The Boks enjoyed one of their best seasons in 2024, winning 11 of their 13 Tests, but Erasmus is preparing the team to peak at the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Erasmus has committed to coaching the Boks up to and including that global tournament.
By then, the South African mastermind will be 54 – still relatively young by head coach standards – but into his 10th season with the Boks.
It will be interesting to see whether he continues with the national side in some capacity, or whether someone else is handed the green and gold baton.
Erasmus’ Boks may surpass the allconquering All Blacks side of the 2010s to become the greatest rugby team of all-time.
They have already matched the All Blacks by winning back-to-back World Cups, and will be gunning for an unprecedented hat-trick of global titles in 2027.
Comparisons between the two sides are often made, and Erasmus usually points to the smart management of the New Zealand Rugby Union which allowed the All Blacks to build a dynasty.
Graham Henry was the head coach of the All Blacks for eight years, and was replaced by one of his assistants, Steve Hansen, after New Zealand won the 2011 World Cup.
Hansen proceeded to build on the platform laid by Henry, and the All Blacks went on to win 90% of their matches between 2012 and 2019. In a similar vein, assistant coach Jacques Nienaber took charge of the Boks after they won the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Erasmus remained with the national team throughout the next World Cup-cycle, but the decision to promote a coach from within the existing ranks was justified, as the Boks cracked on to win the next global tournament in France.
When Nienaber announced that he would be leaving the Boks to pursue an opportunity with Irish club giants Leinster, most critics predicted another promotion from within the management team.
In the end, Erasmus announced that he would take the reins for a second time, and allow others within SA Rugby to assume his director of rugby duties.
The results across a landmark 2024 season vindicated Erasmus’s decision, and there is reason to believe that the Boks will continue to improve in the build-up to the next World Cup.
At the same time, there is a question about Erasmus’ long-term future with the side, and who will take the lead if he decides to step down post-2027.
Deon Davids joined the Bok set-up as a forward coach in 2020, having previously served as the head coach at Boland and the Southern Kings.
Davids has been touted as a potential successor to Erasmus for some time, along with another member of the current coaching staff.
Formers Blitzboks captain Mzwandile Stick was part of the management team in 2016, when the Boks endured one of their worst seasons in history.
After being reassigned in 2017, Stick was recalled into the national set-up in 2018, as Erasmus looked to improve the Boks’ movement off the ball, and at the aerial contest.
Over a period of seven years, Stick has proved one of South Africa’s most influential coaches, and there is a feeling that he is being groomed for greater things.
The 40-year-old knows the South African system inside and out, and may well be an option when and if Erasmus calls it quits.
That said, there are other South African coaches at home and abroad who may be up for the challenge. Johann van Graan learned his trade in Pretoria during a golden era for the Bulls that yielded three Super Rugby titles.
The promising forwards and attack coach – one of the best in the game, according to former Bok and Bulls lock Victor Matfield – joined then national coach Heyneke Meyer at the Boks between 2012 and 2015, and was retained by South Africa when Allister Coetzee took charge in 2016 and 2017.
By late-2017, Van Graan was determined to take on a head coach role, and as fate would have it, one had opened up at Munster.
Erasmus, who was leaving the Irish club to pursue an opportunity with the Boks, motivated for Van Graan’s appointment.
Van Graan coached Munster for five seasons, before landing one of the most high-profile jobs in the sport.
Since his appointment at Bath in 2022, the once-great side has shown a dramatic improvement.
Van Graan steered Bath back into the European Champions Cup, and into the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
They progressed to the 2024 Premiership final, where they lost narrowly to Northampton Saints.
Van Graan has committed to Bath until the 2029–30 season, but as is the case with most club contracts, there is often a clause allowing for an early release, should the coach in question receive the chance to manage a national team.
In the past, Van Graan has spoken about his dream to coach the Boks, and would in all likelihood jump at the opportunity.
The same applies for Johan Ackermann, who has had his eye on the Bok job for the about eight years.
Ackermann succeeded John Mitchell as Lions coach in 2013, after the Johannesburg-based side was relegated from Super Rugby, and proceeded to rebuild the team.
The Lions went on to dominate the domestic landscape and qualify for three Super Rugby finals.
In 2017, Ackermann was named South Africa A coach for the series against the French Barbarians.
After leaving the Lions later that year, he coached at Gloucester before moving to Japan.
Ackermann returned to South Africa last year to take up a post within the SA Rugby structures.
Franco Smith has built up an extensive coaching CV since his own stint with the Boks came to an end in 2017.
After coaching the Cheetahs, Smith worked with Italy between 2019 and 2022. In the space of two years, he has transformed the Glasgow Warriors into a title-winning side.
The Scottish outfit beat the odds when they travelled to Loftus Versfeld for the 2024 URC final, and came away with a 21–16 victory against the Bulls.
In the aftermath, Smith was lauded for his tactical brilliance as much as his man-management strengths.
Smith would not be out of place in a Bok coaching set-up, given his recent success as well as his experience of the South African system.
Jake White boasts even more knowledge on how the local machine operates, having steered the Boks to a World Cup title in 2007, and having rebuilt the Bulls over the past five years.
While no spring chicken at 61, White’s appetite for a scrap and desire to coach the Boks is as strong as ever.
The list above may be rendered irrelevant if Erasmus decides to stay on beyond 2027. What the list does indicate, however, is the strength and quality of coaches at South Africa’s disposal, and why the Boks may continue to dominate the world of Rugby for the next five to 10 years and beyond.
BEST OF THE PRO ERA: Most successful Springbok head coaches
RASSIE ERASMUS (72%)
Erasmus first coached the Boks in 2018 and 2019, steering the side to a Rugby Championship title as well as a World Cup triumph in Japan. He resumed the head coach duties in 2024, and guided the team to 11 wins from 13 games, a run that included another Rugby Championship title.
NICK MALLETT (71%)
Mallett took charge of the Boks towards the end of a largely unsuccessful 1997 season. The Boks proceeded to win all of their end-of-year tour matches in Europe, and all but one of their Tests in 1998. Mallett’s side equalled the record for the most consecutive wins (17) and claimed an inaugural TriNations title. The Boks were less successful at the 1999 World Cup, finishing third. Mallett was dismissed in 2000.
JACQUES NIENABER (69%)
Between 2020 and 2023, Erasmus handed the head coach reins to Nienaber while he juggled his role with the Boks and various director of rugby duties. During that period, the Boks won the 2021 series against the British & Irish Lions and the 2023 World Cup in France.
JAKE WHITE (67%)
Expectations were tempered after a disastrous 2003 World Cup campaign and the controversy surrounding Kamp Staaldraad. A new coach as well as a host of young players managed to lift the standards in 2004, and earn the Boks a second Tri-Nations title. White’s team struggled in 2006, but hit back in 2007 to win the World Cup in France.
PETER DE VILLIERS (63%)
Heyneke Meyer’s Boks may have won more matches (67%) between 2012 and 2015, but De Villiers’s charges claimed more trophies between 2008 and 2011, namely the series against the Lions and a Tri-Nations crown (both in 2009). The team declined in 2010 and 2011, though, and exited the World Cup in New Zealand at the quarter-final stage.
