Has Rassie Erasmus helped or hindered Springboks in 2022?

It’s no secret that South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has always been a maverick. A man willing to do things differently, and to learn from his mistakes.

Just as he came to the end of his first World Rugby ban, the governing body duly handed down another damning suspension as a result of his social media posts that were deemed to be critical of officials.

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Erasmus’ Twitter antics were laced with passive-aggressive subtext and sarcasm that just managed to steer clear of a direct criticism. However, midway through the Springboks’ end-of-year tour, World Rugby confirmed that they had seen enough, duly announcing that Erasmus had been issued another ban on all matchday activities for two Tests.

What was clear at that time is that Erasmus was not endearing himself to the general public, to world rugby, or to the officials, and that’s why his actions were increasingly difficult to understand.

What I suspect, though, is that less than a year away from the World Cup, Erasmus was determined to keep World Rugby honest. It was surely about making a public point to the organisation that is responsible for simplifying rugby laws, improving refereeing standards and holding officials accountable.

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Innovation and finding unique ways of doing things have always been a hallmark of Erasmus’ career, but what’s most important is that he didn’t begin to lose the trust and respect of the Springboks changing room.

When all was said and done, the feeling I get is that the 50-year-old is still viewed as a highly-respected ‘father figure’ of sorts in the national camp, with his willingness to take a stand on behalf of his team having been clear to see.

Erasmus hasn’t always gone about things in the best way, and it’s clear that this year also presented a learning curve as he eventually met with World Rugby to find some common ground.

Behind the scenes, there can still be no doubt that Rassie is a rugby genius, with his meticulous planning and preparation helping to empower a number of new players as the Springboks expanded their depth, while also evolving their style of play.

It may have been difficult to relate to some of Erasmus’ Twitter antics, but he has been influential as ever in the team environment, and certainly played his part as the Springboks ultimately ended the year on a high. 

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The Springboks eventually won eight of their 13 Tests this year, finishing with a win percentage of 62%. They lost one game each to Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and France; but did beat both Wales and Argentina twice, and the All Blacks, Wallabies, Italy and England once each.

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While many would rate that as a below par performance from the world champions, Erasmus has made it clear that the Springboks had reached its core goals for the year.

In an interview with Rapport newspaper’s Hendrik Cronje, Erasmus explained the 2022 international season was the first time the Springboks had been able to successfully strengthen its Test squad depth post the 2019 World Cup.

“Having this kind of depth is super exciting and the all the players have been given road maps they have to work on. In the end, the 33 guys will be selected on the technical and fundamental strength of the progress they’ve done in terms of their road maps.”