The Springboks’ victories over France, Italy and Ireland leave little doubt: Rassie Erasmus is the most innovative and effective coach in world rugby.
There are moments in sport when the narrative changes, not gradually, but with the force of a tide turning all at once.
HOW HE TURNED RESCUE INTO REINVENTION
South African rugby has never lacked passion, talent, or history. What it has lacked, at times painfully, is direction and leadership. Between 2015 and 2017, the Springboks drifted through one of the darkest chapters in their modern era; wounded by a period that nearly severed the connection between a proud team and its people.
And then, in 2018, Rassie Erasmus walked back into the Springbok setup and changed everything. What followed was not merely a resurgence; it was a reinvention. Today, as the accolades, results and historic milestones pile up, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to argue that Erasmus is anything other than the best coach in world rugby.
ONCE RARE VICTORIES NOW ROUTINE
The evidence is everywhere. To understand the magnitude of his impact, one only needs to look at the Springboks’ ledger of victories around the globe under him to understand why.
Just this week, Erasmus and the Springboks finally cracked their Dublin curse, beating Ireland at the Aviva Stadium for the first time since 2012. It was not a perfect performance, Erasmus himself admitted that, but it was a powerful, disciplined, psychologically significant victory. For years, Ireland had been the one thorn the Boks couldn’t quite pull free.
On a cold Dublin night, that changed. And as it often does with this team, it changed decisively. Erasmus himself admitted the relief of finally “getting the monkey off our backs”.
This was only the latest entry in a catalogue of conquests that now span continents. In 2024, the Springboks went to Australia and delivered one of their most commanding tours in modern memory: a 33-7 demolition of the Wallabies in Brisbane, their first win at Suncorp Stadium since 2013; followed seven days later by a wet-weather, bonus-point victory in Perth; completing back-to-back wins on Australian soil for the first time in 53 years.
These weren’t eked-out, opportunistic wins. They were signatures of superiority. And for a country long haunted by narrow losses and bad memories in Australia, those two weeks felt like a reset of historical balance; the Springboks playing with a cold confidence that radiated from the coach’s box downward.
And then there’s Twickenham. South Africa’s 29-20 victory over England in late 2024 felt symbolic: a team that had once faltered in the shadows of London now imposing its will on the English in their own fortress. Add the Springboks’ iconic win over New Zealand in Wellington – the kind of scalp that defines eras – and their ability to grind out, scrap for, and seize wins against this generational France squad in Paris, and a pattern becomes unmistakable: wherever Erasmus goes, he breaks hoodoos.
WHAT SETS ERASMUS APART
But the reason Erasmus stands above his peers is not merely because he wins; it’s how he wins.
Erasmus is the most tactically inventive coach in rugby today. His use of the “Bomb Squad” did more than reimagine the role of the bench, it shifted global thinking about the final quarter of Test matches. While other coaches fear fatigue, Erasmus engineered a system where the Springboks get stronger as the match wears on. Heavy forward splits, once mocked, are now studied. Hybrid players, once niche, are now invaluable. Mid-game positional switches – a centre defending as a flanker, an eighth-man covering at lock, a back three player roaming as a second playmaker – are now strategic weapons.
And then there is the real-time orchestration: Erasmus’s sideline signalling systems, often subtle but always deliberate, allow the Springboks to adjust shape, tempo, and tactical emphasis within phases, not just between them. It is rugby played like a living puzzle: evolving, adapting, and reshaping itself in response to pressure.
This is not innovation for innovation’s sake. It is innovation built on an acute reading of Test rugby’s demands. Erasmus understands that the modern game is not won by rigidity but by managed chaos, by designing teams that can pivot, and ultimately strike, instantly.
Beyond the tactics and the Test wins, Erasmus’s greatest gift may be cultural. He restored meaning to the Springbok jersey. He empowered Siya Kolisi to lead a nation on and off the field. He built an environment where accountability is demanded, and where unity and cohesion are cultivated, not assumed. Under him, the Springboks have become a mirror of South Africa itself; complicated, proud, bruised, and brilliant.
ERASMUS IS A FLAWED GENIUS, BUT A GENIUS NONETHELESS
Of course, the complexities of Erasmus’s legacy include controversy. The 2021 British & Irish Lions series produced one of the most explosive weeks in rugby history. His 62-minute video dissecting refereeing decisions was unprecedented and earned him sanction, criticism, and cult hero status all at once. And yet, amid that storm, the Springboks emerged victorious; grinding out the series through structured attack (at the time), suffocating defence, and a level of nerve that very few Test sides possess.
He has also clashed with referees at World Cups, faced suspensions, and carried his share of fines and headlines. But, in the way of complicated geniuses, these moments are woven into his mythos. Erasmus is a figure who courts the edge because the edge is where he coaches, and where the Springboks so often prevail.
Rassie Erasmus is not perfect. He admits that more often than anyone else. But perfection has never been the point. Excellence has been, and excellence is what he delivers, again and again.
ERASMUS IS THE GREATEST COACH IN THE MODERN ERA
And so, when considering who stands atop the coaching world today, the argument becomes strikingly simple. No active Test coach has accumulated the monumental Test victories he has. No one has reshaped the sport’s tactical landscape with such boldness and consistency. No one has built a culture as unified, as tough, or as self-aware. And no one has delivered under pressure – be it on New Zealand soil, in the French furnace, or under the Dublin lights – quite like Rassie Erasmus.
It is one thing to win. It is another to do so everywhere, against everyone, over many years, and with methods that push the entire sport forward. The world fears South Africa again. And Erasmus, with all his fire, flaws, genius, and vision, is at the centre of it all.
That is why he is the best rugby coach in the world.
