Business as usual as Rassie’s actively involved in Bok camp
ON Sunday, the Springboks play their first match without Rassie Erasmus amongst their number since he took over the team in 2018, but coach Jacques Nienaber says that the team will be no less effective.
That is because while director of rugby Erasmus is not physically there in person, as he deals with the disciplinary action instituted against him by World Rugby, he has been contributing “virtually” thanks to modern technology.
After naming his team to play the Wallabies, Nienaber said that he had, in fact, just finished chatting to Erasmus.
“The key thing between myself and Rassie is that we operate a little bit differently than is usually the case with a director of rugby and head coach,” Nienaber said. “Even when Rassie was head coach, and I was assistant coach, we operated a little bit differently.”
Erasmus and Nienaber have been working together for more than two decades – since the pair were at university together in Bloemfontein.
“The best way to describe it is that we are not confined by our job titles,” Nienaber explained. “Being director of rugby almost puts you in a box and you operate in that scope. But we don’t work like that. The team understands that I have certain responsibilities and Rassie has got certain responsibilities. In all my responsibilities, he gives input. Not only him, but the rest of the coaching staff as well. It’s vice versa with Rassie. He will have certain aspects that he is responsible for, and I will add my input.
“It sounds weird, but our working relationship is going on as per normal, as is his engagement with the team. One positive about Covid-19 is that technology has made the world small. You can be in somebody else’s living room in 10 seconds. We go through the same weekly structure and programme, as if he was here.”
Erasmus remained in South Africa because he did not want his disciplinary battle with World Rugby to be a distraction for the team.
“Hats off to Rassie for flipping his days and nights around to fit in with our schedule,” Nienaber said. “He sits in on our team meetings, but obviously he is not on the training pitch. But for me, sitting here, it’s business as usual in terms of our working relationship.”
Nienaber also explained that there are times in South Africa where Erasmus’s role as director has precluded him from team preparation.
“He wasn’t with us in the week before the first Argentina Test and before the second Test against the British & Irish Lions. He sometimes has director of rugby stuff that he has to look after. Sometimes he won’t go with us to training sessions, or won’t travel with us in the bus to a Test match. He might arrive a bit later because he had some stuff that he was responsible for from a director of rugby point of view.”
Nienaber’s team for Sunday’s game sees the return of talisman No 8 Duane Vermeulen for his first match since the 2019 World Cup final.
Another stalwart back in the team after injury is scrum-half Faf de Klerk, but the Boks have lost Cheslin Kolbe to injury, and he is replaced by Sbu Nkosi on the right wing. Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff. Subs: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jasper Wiese, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.