Behind every great captain is the coach

Relationships make the world go round, and in rugby, the partnership between captain and coach is particularly crucial. The most recent example of how it formed the basis of a success story in the sport was the bond between SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, who combined to win the World Cup last year.

Erasmus gave Kolisi his first professional contract at Western Province, and when he appointed Kolisi for the first Test against England at Ellis Park in 2018, he said his opinion of a captain was someone who was “an extension of himself”.

All three of SA’s World Cup wins were based on a sound relationship between captain and coach, with skipper Francois Pienaar and coach Kitch Christie combining in 1995, and captain John Smit and coach Jake White forming a close bond in 2007.

The All Blacks have proved it too, with captain Richie McCaw teaming up, first with Graham Henry, and later Steve Hansen, to win World Cups in 2011 and 2015.

England underlined that bond when they won the World Cup in 2003 with captain Martin Johnson and coach Clive Woodward working very closely together.

Australia turned to Nic-Farr Jones and coach Bob Dwyer in 1991, and John Eales and Rod McQueen in 1999 for their two World Cup wins.

Locally, in the Currie Cup, the biggest success story was the legendary late Northern Transvaal coach, Brigadier Buurman van Zyl, who linked up with Thys Lourens and Naas Botha as captains to win seven titles in nine years between 1973 and 1981.

Their success was followed by five consecutive Currie Cup titles for Western Province between 1982 and 1986, led by coach Dawie Snyman and captain Divan Serfontein.

Equally inspiring were the Natal Sharks, who were dubbed “The team of the 90’s” after winning four titles with shrewd coach Ian McIntosh lining up captains like Craig Jamieson and Gary Teichmann.

Pienaar and Christie also combined to hand Transvaal their first title in 21 years in 1993, The captain and coach bond also brought huge success to Free State when Erasmus combined with captain Naka Drotske to win their first title in 29 years in 2005, More recently, former Lions coaches Johan Ackermann and Swys de Bruin combined with captains Warren Whiteley and Jaco Kriel to reclaim the Currie Cup in 2015, and steered the team to three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018.