Former Springboks head coach Nick Mallett has pinpointed the reason why Rassie Erasmus has been a success as the national team boss.

The 52-year-old joined South Africa as both director of rugby and head coach in 2018, and guided the team to a Rugby World Cup title in 2019.

Four years later, the Boks repeated the feat by overcoming the All Blacks 12-11 in the 2023 final.

They have now set their sights on the three-peat in Australia, with Erasmus once again taking on the head coach’s role after handing that position over to Jacques Nienaber between 2019 and 2023.

He has been absolutely central to their success over the past few years and Mallett explained why he thinks the two-time World Cup winner has excelled with the Springboks.

Developing his ’emotional intelligence’

“Going through, he was successful with Free State and won the Currie Cup, and then came to Western Province, got into the final of Super Rugby. He went to Munster and was successful there,” he said on the Boks Office podcast.

“He’s always been successful. Initially, it was his technical ability that shone through but now it’s his emotional intelligence that has really developed since he’s got into his 50s.”

Erasmus obviously has a tremendous understanding of the game but it is his ability to inspire everyone around him which is unparalleled, according to Mallett.

“His ability to understand that every single person is different, you press different buttons with different people, respect all the cultures. Be inclusive but don’t force people – we’re not all one, we’re all different,” he said.

“His ability to handle a [Makazole] Mapimpi at the same time as a Pieter-Steph du Toit or [Duane] Vermeulen is extraordinary.

 

“He’s absolutely honest with the players, so every guy knows where he sits, what he’s got to do to get better and he always presents stats to the players.

“He says to them ‘The reason you’re not playing is the other guy made 18 tackles and you made 14, and you gave four penalties away.’

“He’s statistically driven but caring at the same time, which is an unusual combination.”

Andre Esterhuizen hails the Rassie Erasmus ploy to get ‘older’ Springboks to the next World Cup

Insight from recently-capped Springbok

Mallett was joined on the show by former Springboks assistant coach Gary Gold, who got some insight about the set-up from a current player.

“The culture’s so good there. I was spending some time with Edwill van der Merwe and he was raving about, as a young guy, how good he was made to feel when he came into the environment, how quickly up to speed they got him,” Gold said.

“They’ve got everything sorted there, they’re very, very well organised.”

There is always a worry that it could go wrong and ultimately no job is safe, but Mallett insists that Erasmus will not be at risk of the sack.

Instead, the 68-year-old’s main concern is what happens to the Boks when he does decide to step aside, which could well transpire at the conclusion of the 2027 World Cup.

“The worrying thing is what will happen when he goes. [But] I don’t think he has to worry about the Sword of Damocles being anywhere near him,” Mallett added.

READ MORE: Eben Etzebeth weighs in on greatest debate as third World Cup remains Springboks’ ‘main thing’

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/ex-springboks-boss-reveals-the-unusual-combination-which-makes-rassie-erasmus-so-extraordinary