Bryan Habana pinpoints ‘never happened before’ factor which has been key to Springboks’ success amid Rassie Erasmus’ ‘autocratic’ rule
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and legendary wing Bryan Habana.
Springboks legend Bryan Habana believes that the “continuity” the national team has enjoyed since the start of Rassie Erasmus’ reign has been crucial in their success.
South Africa won two Rugby World Cups prior to the 2018 – in 1995 and 2007 – but they never enjoyed an era of sheer dominance at the highest level.
That has changed over the past seven years under Erasmus following back-to-back World Cup titles and a 2025 campaign which has seen the Boks cement themselves as the number one side with two years to go until the next global tournament.
Springboks’ transformation
Habana obviously gives a huge amount of the credit to the head coach, who has helped transform their fortunes after a difficult couple of years under Allister Coetzee.
“We’ve had Rassie Erasmus, who has been involved in SA Rugby structures since about 2007 in some way, shape or form, but there was immediate continuity and immediate alignment – Rassie put some firm boundaries in place,” the 42-year-old told the Business of Sport podcast.
“I think his coaching style is very autocratic and very firm in various ways. It’s not shape up or ship out, he puts certain things in place and actually allows players to take accountability and responsibility.
“They are not spoon-fed, but there is continuity. It’s the first time ever over three World Cup cycles that we’ve had a singular person overseeing the whole running of it, which has never happened before.”
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Equally, Erasmus has a wide talent pool to choose from and a core of experienced players that have been through plenty of tough times to build their mental fortitude.
Experience and youth
“That being said, to the point about resilience, Eben Etzebeth was captain when South Africa lost 57-0 in Palmerston North [against the All Blacks], and the hurt, the resilience, the character building of that journey, of this team.
“What Rassie has done phenomenally well over the course of the last seven years, he’s constantly brought players in to learn from the experience.
“Eben Etzebeth, the most capped Springbok ever, Siya Kolisi has just become a Test centurion, and you have Willie le Roux, Handre Pollard, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel all on 70, 80, 90, 100 Test matches.
“But then he’s blooded in this new group of players, such as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and he’s got this really great alignment from the top all the way down to junior level rugby.”
While there has been incredible work from the players and coaches, Habana did not forget the work of the governing body, who have also played their part.
“Alignment has been a very key factor, support of that alignment from the corporate structure, so SA Rugby, has been incredibly key,” he added.
“As the most incredible rugby brain – the most innovative and out of the box thinking – and the loudest, Rassie’s been able to say: ‘This is what I believe needs to be done. We need more sponsors, more funds, we need x, y, z’, and it’s been aligned.”
