Springboks legend: ‘Rassie has proved himself to be this genius coach’

Rugby World Cup winner Joel Stransky has sung the praises of Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus ahead of their Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.

Erasmus masterminded back-to-back World Cup-winning campaigns for the Springboks in 2019 and 2023 but, despite the team’s success, he has not rested on his laurels and there is plenty of confidence in their ranks ahead of their upcoming campaign.

The 51-year-old sprung a major surprise when he selected rookie Stormers utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at fly-half for Saturday’s clash against Australia, which will be the 22-year-old’s first start at Test level.

Bold selection calls

Apart from him, four-Test Bulls back-row Elrigh Louw’s selection at number eight was a surprising one as he is also making his run-on debut for the Boks.

Stransky, who made 22 Test appearances at fly-half for South Africa, believes Erasmus deserve all the credit for what he has achieved with the Boks and for the team’s evolvement after last year’s year’s successful World Cup campaign in France.

“Rassie has proved himself to be this genius coach. He’s had the odd issue here and there but, for the best part, he’s done sensationally well,” he told the SENZ Radio.

“And what he’s done so well is he’s controlled the age in the team, the number of caps. He’s nurtured players, brought in the young guys, bred them for six months, eight months, 18 months.

“We’ve seen the likes of Damian Willemse come through, from a young player who sat on the bench to the starting role at full-back.

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“I think what he does so well is he understands what game he wants to play, what type of player he needs, how they need to breed into the system. And he has a plan that is, you know, not 18 months but 36 months.

Planning ahead

“I think he has a plan that’s five, six years in advance. So he’s always got one eye just looking ahead to what’s next, what’s over the horizon, how do we prepare for that? And that’s where it is. To see a guy like Elrigh Louw come into the system 18 months ago, now he’s starting.

“To see Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu now starting, even as a young guy. It’s wonderful. It’s really wonderful. And then, one or two of the Tests against Portugal (and) one or two of the other weaker Tests, we’ve seen young guys given a shot.

“Some were given a shot and played themselves out of contention, but a couple of these young guys have come through and really proved themselves.”

On Saturday’s clash against the Wallabies, Stransky said he is happy with the mix between inexperienced and more seasoned players, and feels Erasmus has thrown down the gauntlet to his opponents by naming his team early in the week.

“I think Rassie’s picked a good side and again, he’s got the balance right,” he said. I think what I love about it is the fact that he announces the team early, the team knows on Monday who’s playing, so they go out and train like that.

“They train confidently like that. There’s no secrets. It almost says to the opposition, ‘this is who we are’.

“You know what’s coming your way. It doesn’t matter who we play. We play, that’s our game plan and that’s what it’s going to be.”

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