Do it for coach Rassie, Boks

Win or lose tomorrow, it’s going to be a poignant and emotional day for the Springboks as they play their last match under coach Rassie Erasmus.

His announcement yesterday that he will be stepping down from the Bok coaching role to continue as director of coaching at SA Rugby was not the bombshell some are portraying it as. It had been long expected that he would step aside at the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup campaign.

Even so, it cannot be denied that he will leave a huge vacuum when he goes. He has already booked his place in the national rugby coaching hall of fame, however, alongside the late Kitch Christie (who took the Boks to the historic first World Cup triumph in 1995) and Jake White, who did the same in 2007 (although with a lot of help then from the current England coach, Eddie Jones).

Rassie (he has become such a part of our sporting family that surnames don’t seem appropriate) took over the Boks at a low point in their history. His predecessor, Allister Coetzee, was at the helm for a string of poor performances, both home and away. As coach, he won just 11 out of 25 matches.

Under Rassie’s eye, though, the Boks have gelled not only as a team, but also as a close-knit unit of warriors. As it should be with the men in the trenches, they are loyal to their country, but their fiercest loyalty is reserved for their comrades and their commander.

Rassie has kept his focus, too, which is not easy in a country full of fair-weather fans and armchair critics, never mind the odd race row thrown into the mix.

We’re sure the team will be playing their hearts out tomorrow – for the cup and for Rassie.

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