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Bought not built: Rassie's importing has sacrificed the identity of Bok rugby
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Faced with the suggestion that the Springboks had become a northern hemisphere team back in 2023 ahead of their semi-final clash against England, then Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus responded proudly on X; ‘at least we are all South African!’.
The suggestion was that the Springboks remained ‘pure’ in a national sense as they have no foreign-born players in the team, unlike other playing nations. Well, the Springboks are not ‘all South African’ anymore.
If many of the minds in the Springboks’ braintrust are foreigners, then how ‘South African’ are you really? Because the hard truth is the Springboks are no longer just run by South Africans.
It’s Irishmen, Welshmen, Englishmen and even a Kiwi to boot, who have moulded the side into an attacking force unlike anything we’ve seen.
Erasmus’ importing programme of coaching and performance-related backroom staff has transformed the Springboks on and off the field, from a sub-60 per cent Test team from 2018-2023, to one pushing the upper limits at 85 per cent over the last two years.
The improvement is real and so is the reality that the brains trust powering this (excluding non-performance staff) is now 35 per cent foreign.
A third of the coaching staff are not South African, with Tony Brown (New Zealand), Jerry Flannery (Ireland), and Felix Jones (Ireland) taking substantial roles, and then more backroom staff like Englishman Andy Edwards, Head of Athletic Performance, Paddy Sullivan (Ireland) and Joe Lewis (Welsh) as performance analysts.
These aren’t operational, logistical, administrative, and medical-only personnel; they are directly overseeing and involved with the on-field performance of the Springboks.
These are experts in video analysis, data science and physical conditioning, not to mention the tactical side and game philosophy coming from influential figures like Tony Brown, Jones and Flannery.
When Erasmus first took over the Springboks in 2018, it was almost an entirely local South African core on the coaching & performance staff, with just one foreign international in Aled Walters, Head of Athletic Performance, brought over from Munster.
The ‘foreign legion’ behind the Boks has scaled up from 2020 onwards, but now has truly diluted Springbok rugby.
Using Irish defensive structures and New Zealand attack patterns, and northern hemisphere analysts to find and fix flaws, doesn’t lend itself to being South African, or playing a South African way, does it?
This is more significant than most realise. The top brass is always the most important piece of any organisation. They shape and drive the direction and, ultimately, are responsible for results. And for the Springboks rugby operation, it’s increasingly less South African.
If South Africa is truly the best rugby nation in the world, why are they using a bunch of offshore IP and brainpower? It’s like China’s tech race with the US. If you are not at the frontier, the next best solution is to import from the leaders, which is what they’ve done.
Erasmus has said himself that he was worried about falling behind on trends within the global game in his push to ‘internationalise’ the Boks’ resources. But true leaders drive trends and innovation, not import them from elsewhere.
The Springboks are one or two hires away from becoming a majority foreign-staff on the performance side of things. If the trend persists, we could see this within a few years.
Now, there is nothing inherently unlawful or against the spirit of the game in what Erasmus and SARU have done. It is completely above board. It may have even been the best, smartest option available to them. It certainly has worked on the field. But you can no longer claim you “are all South African”.
This isn’t rugby, devised, strategised and formulated by South Africans. They had the brawn but then imported the brains; the decision-makers, sport science, and tacticians, to build this rugby version of Frankenstein.
The Boks are more northern hemisphere than their supporters realise and less South African than they know.
They can go and beat England in the opening round of the Nations Championship this weekend, and a piece of that victory belongs to England. Some to Ireland. Some to Wales. Some to New Zealand. It’s become a globalised orchestra up top with international figures as puppeteers.
Down in New Zealand, the All Blacks have resisted taking such an approach. It is still uniquely New Zealand rugby in identity and in style, run by New Zealanders for the most part.
New assistant coach Mike Blair is the latest international appointment to the All Blacks coaching staff since Australian Mick Byrne. So they’ve taken one step back down the same path, but South Africa is well and truly down that garden path relying on others for their success.
But remember, Frankenstein ultimately turned on its creator in the end. The multi-national conglomerate in charge of the Boks might end up to much for SARU to stomach eventually.
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