New Rassie book: How it came to be that Kolisi was picked as Bok captain

Just weeks out from the start of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, SA rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has released a memoir titled Rassie: Stories of life and rugby with David O’Sullivan and published by Pan MacMillan.

The book should be available in all good book stores from this week.

In the publication, Erasmus speaks about growing up in Despatch in the Eastern Cape, getting into big-time rugby while in the army in Bloemfontein and playing for the Cheetahs, as well as his career as a Springbok player and later as coach.

In the extract below Erasmus tells how it came about that Siya Kolisi was appointed the Springboks’ first black captain.

“When I selected the 23 players for the England Test at Ellis Park, I strongly considered Duane Vermeulen as the captain. Pieter-Steph had been captain in the previous Test, against Wales, but we had made it clear to him that it was a one-off. The captain the previous year was Eben Etzebeth, but he was injured, as was Warren Whiteley, who had captained the Boks in two Tests against France the previous year.

“My concern about Duane being captain was that he was based in France, playing for Toulon, and we weren’t sure when he would be able to join the squad.

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Preferred a loose-forward

“I needed someone who was immediately available. I also needed someone who played close to the
action and could talk to the referee, so it couldn’t be a flyhalf, fullback or winger. I felt that the captain needed to be a loose forward or scrumhalf.

“I preferred loose forward because that’s a player who is usually on his feet and can see the game and is not stuck in a maul or doesn’t have his head buried in a scrum. I needed someone who had the players’ respect for the way he played. Siya Kolisi was the Stormers’ captain, playing some of the best rugby of his career, and he was a loose forward.

“He ticked all the boxes. So I chose him to be captain. Those were my reasons. I didn’t tell him until we were all sitting in the team meeting. I put the names of the squad up on the big screen, went through it, and said, ‘Siya, you’re captain.’

“There wasn’t a single moment where I felt, this is a historic moment – the first black captain of the national rugby team. Not one f***ing bit. I really did not see this being such a big issue. I didn’t have a discussion about it with the assistant coaches beforehand and I didn’t pick up any emotion in the team meeting when I announced that Siya was the captain.

“Nobody – and I know a lot of people won’t believe this – nobody came to me and said, ‘F*** it, hey, we have a black captain.’ Not a single person said that to me.

Western Province

“I had known Siya since he was 18 years old, when he came to Western Province. As Director of Rugby, I was working with the under-19s, the under-21s, and at the academy when I encountered Siya for the first time. I saw immediately that he could carry the ball, hand off tacklers, and run over opponents. I was very impressed with his strength.

“I wanted to sign him for Western Province, but his agent told me we had lost out because Siya had signed for the Cheetahs. I then got Frikkie to check the contract. He found a glaring problem that invalidated the contract, and we were able to sign Siya.

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“I got to know Siya very well as a player. One of the things that always impressed me about him was that he never let his head drop. I knew he could go off the rails, but I understood that, having been through the same thing myself as a young player when I was at the Cats and going out partying.

“Most players are in and out of trouble, so he wasn’t unusual in that regard. I can’t say I was a father figure for him – other people played that role – but I was there for him through good times and bad times, ready to give him advice based on my own past experience. He was always frank and open with me and told me straight up about things that irritated him. We established such a bond that I knew I could put my trust in him.

Siya appointed captain

“I sent the team through to SARU president Mark Alexander and CEO Jurie Roux on the Sunday before the Wales Test. I didn’t speak to them beforehand and ask them if it was okay to appoint Siya because I didn’t have to. We told the squad the same day, so they knew who was flying to the USA, who was staying behind to prepare for England, and who was going to be involved in both games.

“To avoid the story being leaked and creating unnecessary media hype and speculation, we released the squad announcement to the media the next day, Monday, 28 May.

“When I read the team out at a news conference, there was no fanfare or heightened emotion as I made the appointment public. I simply read out the team, and then looked up for questions from the journalists.

“That first news conference was just crazy. Our media manager Rayaan Adriaanse had drafted questions we could expect, and I wrapped my head around the way I wanted to answer them. I was honest with my answers and told the media that I knew Siya was a good leader and I was excited about what he offered the team.

“I dealt with the issue of transformation, saying that while we were trying to fix the wrongs of the past, Siya’s appointment as captain had no bearing on transformation. I made it clear that all the players in the squad deserved to be there and I was not trying to fabricate things.

‘Massive for so many supporters’

“This is where I realised the captaincy is massive for so many rugby supporters. I don’t expect the 12 million-odd people who follow rugby in South Africa to understand rugby teamwork 100%. I want them to support the game and give their opinions. But I don’t expect them to analyse tackle counts or know how lineouts work or understand how much a captain does.

“They’re supporters and fans; it’s not their job to analyse the finer details. But I didn’t properly understand what a black captain meant for the guy living in a shack in KwaNobuhle, or the oom on the farm in Grabouw. For me it was a case of figuring out how this team operated on the field.

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“I am often asked why a boykie from Despatch, coming from this racially conservative background, appointed a black captain, when two black coaches before me — Peter de Villiers and Allister Coetzee —didn’t. I don’t have an answer to that.

“What I can tell you is that I know what embarrassment is, and I don’t ever want to see a player embarrassed, humiliated or angered by discrimination based on his race, or social standing, or on what school he went to, or what language he speaks. I couldn’t coach a team where people are made to feel that way. Embarrassment is something I feel very strongly about. I can tell just by the way he looks at me if someone has been humiliated.

“Our eyes tell so much about what’s going on in our hearts. You can see in my eyes when I’m embarrassed and when I’m hartseer and when I’m happy. Even though I put on a show and smile, you can see in my eyes how I’m actually feeling.

“I learnt to look in my dad’s eyes and could tell even before he spoke how drunk he was or if he was still capable of reasoning. I could see in my sister’s eyes if she was panicking. I can see in players’ eyes if they are under pressure or in control. Their eyes tell me who’s there and who’s not there, who’s weak and who’s in control.

“Because of Siya’s appointment I got accused of being a political person. It made me f***ing angry. I had been biting my tongue for seven years, not saying anything while people made the same mistakes over and over again. Then I got accused of pandering to my paymaster, whatever that was supposed to mean.

“The only way I could confront that ignorant slur was to win and keep winning. It was so much easier to put those accusers in their place by simply telling them to look at the scoreboard.”