Is Rassie Erasmus the right fit for Boks heading towards 2027?

Is Rassie Erasmus taking over the Springbok coaching job in the interim the right thing for South African Rugby going forward?

Numerous reports over the weekend, along with Erasmus himself, confirmed that he would be taking charge of the Boks at the start of their next World Cup cycle next year, ahead of the showpiece event in Australia in 2027.

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In an interview with Rapport, Erasmus outlined his early plans and some of the key positions that the Boks will be looking to strengthen over the coming years, with particular mention made of lock, hooker and flyhalf.

The unknown

But how long Erasmus will be taking over the Bok coaching role is still unknown and with his contract with SA Rugby set to end in 2025 it brings up plenty of questions.

If Erasmus is going to sign an extension to the end of 2027 and if he intends to coach the Boks straight through the next World Cup, it would be a boost to the team as he is an incredibly popular figure and has shown over the past five years that he is exactly what Bok rugby needs.

But if he isn’t going to coach through the next World Cup cycle and leave his position in two years’ time you have to wonder why he couldn’t continue as he has been doing up to now — as director of rugby?

Assistant coaches Mzwandile Stick and Deon Davids have been posited as possible next Bok coaches, and if either of them is set to take over before the next World Cup, why not now?

Erasmus can still fully support them from behind the scenes, as he has done with Jacques Nienaber over the past World Cup cycle.

If they are both not ready, should the Boks not look to hire from outside their setup, with former Lions coach Johan Ackermann, former Cheetahs coach Franco Smith and current Stormers coach John Dobson some of the names that have been bandied about?

However, that does bring a problem in that a coach from outside the setup would likely want to bring in his own coaching team, whereas SA Rugby seem eager to keep the current crop of coaches together.

Main issue

In any case, the main issue with Erasmus taking over the Boks, even just in the interim, is that he will again, as he did in 2018 and 2019, double up as SA Rugby director of rugby as well.

That means a considerable amount of his time, that should be focused on other aspects of South African rugby, like the SA women’s and junior Bok teams, will be taken up by the Boks, which is not an ideal situation.

There are plenty of other aspects of SA Rugby that need attention, and it would be better if Erasmus could put more focus on that over the coming years, especially if he chooses to leave at the end of his contract in 2025.

Obviously the Boks are the highest priority, but with Erasmus and Nienaber having set a superb foundation over the past six years, it should be strong enough for one of the current assistants to take over and be mentored by Erasmus in the background.