Anti-social approach works for Springboks
The Springboks have revealed one of the secrets to their success and it flies in the face of modern society.
Rassie Erasmus’ successful overhaul of the South African team has taken them all the way to Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final against England in Japan.
That comes on the back of the Springboks winning this year’s Rugby Championship.
Erasmus, who took over in 2018, wanted a more professional environment where the players’ focus was in the right place and part of that was cutting down on social media.
Image and money, two pillars of a world fixated by celebrity status, have taken a back seat in a new drive to winning.
Captain Siya Kolisi praised Erasmus’ leadership and guidance that returned performance as the team’s priority.
‘‘He [Erasmus] has coached a lot of the guys from different [provincial] unions, so he knows us and has had to pull us together,’’ Kolisi said.
‘‘We had to buy into his plan, and he has made it clear that the Springboks is the most important thing.
‘‘In the past, we tried to build ourselves by our social media, and all those kinds of things. He just brought us back down to earth, and told us, ‘You have to play well first, and everything else will come’.’’
Erasmus said he was determined to eradicate the mediocrity that had slowly enveloped the South African game.
‘‘The way the players in the last two, two and half years took the responsibility of being very professional and taking ownership of what it means to be a professional rugby player has been the big difference,’’ Erasmus said as the Springboks look to add a third World Cup following successes in 1995 and 2007.
‘‘There was a stage in South Africa where being a professional rugby player was just earning a pay cheque, but currently players understand that if they want to be a professional rugby player, they have to work really hard.
‘‘They can’t just move from province to province and collect a pay cheque. That attitude is slowly spreading throughout the provinces and the franchises and players are pushing each other.
‘‘That whole level of mediocrity is slowly going out of our game – not that we have achieved anything yet. But we are slowly moving up to the standards where other nations are maximising their potential.
‘‘Overall, the players deserve a lot of credit for taking a more professional approach towards professional rugby.’’