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Rassie Erasmus (left) and Jacques Nienaber possess complementary skills <\/p>\n
Erasmus had a difficult childhood, with his father\u2019s struggles with alcoholism a formative experience. Perhaps that enables him to connect with a playing group drawn from very different backgrounds. In the moments after their win in Yokohama, captain Siya Kolisi tried to get Erasmus to take hold of the trophy, a mark of their bond. The then head coach declined, insisting it was his skipper\u2019s moment. <\/p>\n
The installation of Kolisi, the Springboks\u2019 first Black test captain, came just a few months after Erasmus replaced Allister Coetzee. \u201cPeople outside of South Africa might not understand this fully but having a Black Springbok captain is a flammable situation in our country,\u201d the coach recalled to the Daily Mail <\/em>of the appointment. “I lost a lot of friends when I made Siya captain. There was a lot of nastiness.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the World Cup, my daughters\u2019 friends\u2019 parents would say, \u2018Tell that f*****g father of yours to stop sucking up for a pay cheque.\u2019 People said it was political. The fight to get people to believe in Siya was a real struggle.\u201d Six years on, Kolisi could surpass Francois Pienaar and John Smit as indisputably the Springboks\u2019 greatest captain \u2013 like so many of his bold calls, Erasmus got it right.<\/p>\n Like all good leaders, it is clear that there has been learning from the mistakes. While his remorseless initial reactions to the unedifying Berry incident still sit uneasily, there has been a necessary mellowing. South Africa now enjoy a closer relationship with the officials; though former test referee Nigel Owens declined an invitation to join South Africa at this World Cup, the Welshman has been in contact with the Springboks camp.<\/p>\n South Africa captain Siya Kolisi (left) and Erasmus are close <\/p>\n \u201cOur whole motto has been, \u2018Let\u2019s respect the referees,\u2019\u201d Erasmus explained. \u201cIt works both ways. He\u2019s going to make mistakes, we\u2019re going to make mistakes. And the frustration we had in the past, and the lack of communication because of various things with Covid … that is in the past. There\u2019s a nice protocol in place, it\u2019s easy to communicate to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Nienaber will depart after this tournament for Leinster, with Bath coach Johann van Graan, who succeeded Erasmus at Munster, thought to be among the contenders to take over.<\/p>\n His boss was also connected with a move to Ireland, linked with the performance director role left vacant by David Nucifora\u2019s exit. \u201cThere\u2019s no truth in that,\u201d Erasmus emphatically stated at the start of the World Cup. \u201cI\u2019m not sure where it\u2019s come from but I definitely haven\u2019t chatted to the IRFU. I\u2019m definitely not following Jacques.\u201d In the shadows or the spotlight, the Springboks\u2019 puppet master continues to pull the strings.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/17\/10\/newFile-2.jpg\")
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