Rassie Erasmus pipped by fierce rival in Nations Championship win percentages

While Dave Rennie is just about to start his tenure as head coach of the All Blacks, Rassie Erasmus is eight years in and will draw level with Jake White’s record of 54 Tests in charge of the Springboks, when he leads South Africa into battle against England at Ellis Park this Saturday.

Two Rugby World Cup wins, a Lions series victory, three Rugby Championship titles and a ranking of number one in the world makes Erasmus the standout coach amongst the current crop.

However, in terms of win percentage, the former flanker doesn’t sit at the top of the tree when looking at the records of the head coaches set to be involved in The Nations Championship/World Rugby Nations Cup.

With Rennie and fellow newcomers, Fiji’s Senirusi Seruvakula and Georgia’s Pierre-Henry Broncan yet to start their reigns, and Hong Kong China’s Logan Asplin not qualifying on the grounds that he has only overseen three Tests, we’re left with a Top 20.

Nations Championship/Cup Head Coach Records

20. Steve Meehan (Canada) – 11.1% (1/9)
The Australian was handed a bit of a hospital pass when asked to take over from Kingsley Jones in the middle of last year at a time when Canada were at their lowest ebb, and so far, the former Toulon and Bath man has yet to make a tangible difference in terms of results.

18= Tusi Pisi (Samoa) – 22.2% (2/9)
The former Samoan fly-half inherited another team in decline who limped from defeat to defeat in RWC 2027 qualification before just about getting the better of Belgium to book the 24th and final ticket to Australia.

18= Steve Tandy (Wales) – 22.2% (2/9)
This year’s Six Nations win over Italy was Tandy’s second in charge, having also beaten Japan under his command last November. While he hasn’t exactly enjoyed a honeymoon period as Wales boss, Tandy has made a favourable impression thus far.

17. Tevita Tu’ifua (Tonga – 23.1% (3/13)
Succeeded Toutai Kefu as Tonga head coach in April 2024 on a four-year contract. His highlight to date is the 30-16 win over Samoa in last year’s PNC.

16. Rodolfo Ambrosio (Uruguay) – 38.5% (5/13)
On the whole, Uruguay have made decent strides forward under Ambrosio, who began his tenure just over two years ago. Under him, Los Teros reached a record rankings high of 14th on the back of a strong set of results in 2025.

15. Joe Schmidt (Australia) – 39.3% (11/28)
The stirring comeback win against South Africa in Johannesburg last year, and the third Test win against the Lions, are the highlights of a reign that has fallen a long way short of matching his record with Ireland. Schmidt will hand over the baton to Les Kiss once the July series of the Nations Championship is over.

14. David Gérard (Romania) – 40% (10/25)
The Frenchman came in as Eugen Apjok’s replacement following a disastrous World Cup campaign in France and has made slow progress so far.

13. Gonzalo Quesada (Italy) – 40.7% (11/27)
A first-ever win over England at the 33rd attempt was achieved under Quesada this year. The former Pumas fly-half has Italy playing a good brand of rugby and is starting to maximise the generational talents at his disposal, such as Ange Capuozzo and Tommaso Menoncello.

12. Eddie Jones (Japan) – 40.9% (9/22)
Never go back is a phrase often heard in sport, and Jones has definitely found life with the Brave Blossoms much tougher second time around. In his first spell, Jones famously led Japan to victory against South Africa at RWC 2015 and also to a then record position of ninth in the rankings, winning 65% of his 49 Tests.

11. Pablo Lemoine (Chile) – 41% (16/39)
Chile are one of the recent success stories of world rugby, and Uruguayan Lemoine has played a big part in that. Los Condores put in a credible perfomance on their RWC debut in France and can look forward to going up another level in Australia in 2027.

10. Scott Lawrence (USA) – 43.5% (10/23)
The former Eagles No.8 has high hopes that his team can make a big impact when they host the RWC in 2031. But, for now, they’re still very much a work in progress. Last November’s 85-0 hammering at the hands of Scotland showed just how much ground they have got to make up.

9. Felipe Contepomi (Argentina) – 50% (12/24)
Contepomi has led Argentina to historic wins against all three Rugby Championship rivals, as well as defeating the 2025 Lions in a non-Test. Would surely have a higher win percentage if the Pumas didn’t play the vasy majority of their game against top 10 opposition.

8. Simon Mannix (Portugal) – 55.5% (10/18)
Mannix’s abrasive style took some getting used to, but his ‘tough love’ philosophy is starting to reap rewards, with Os Lobos winning their first Rugby Europe title in 22 years in March.

7. Pablo Bouza (Spain) – 56% (14/25)
Bouza’s Spain are looking forward to participating in their first RWC in 27 years in Australia in 2027, and the way they ran Fiji so close last November, suggest they are not going there to meekly surrender.

6. Gregor Townsend (Scotland) – 56.3% (58/103)
Scotland’s bulletproof boss has endured a rollercoaster time in charge of Scotland, his nine years and 103 Tests at the helm being the longest continuous run in the job by any British-born head coach. Only Ian McGeechan’s first spell in charge of Scotland between 1988 and 1993 (58%) can beat Townsend’s era in terms of win percentage over the past 50 years.

5. Steve Borthwick (England) – 57.8% (26/45)
Twelve wins on the bounce in 2025 and then the worst Six Nations campaign in England’s history. The jury is still out on the data-driven former lock who led England to third place at RWC 2023.

4. Fabien Galthié (France) – 74.6% (53/71)
Galthié has led the team to three Men’s Six Nations titles, in 2022, 2025 and 2026, and, very briefly, to number one in the world rankings. The former scrum-half, who made his debut as head coach in February 2020 with a win over England, brought up a half-century of victories in the opening round of this year’s Six Nations.

3. Rassie Erasmus (South Africa) – 75.5% (40/53)
The Springboks’ figurehead, whether as head coach or director of rugby, since 2018. He soon put the defeat to Wales in Washington, USA, in his first match in charge behind him to brilliantly lead the Boks to two Rugby World Cup titles. With his innovative approach to coaching, Erasmus has never been afraid to push back the boundaries and keep the opposition guessing.

2. Andy Farrell (Ireland) – 78% (50/64)
Ignoring his brief sabbatical to take on the 2025 Lions job, Farrell has enjoyed a laregely unbroken run of success as Ireland head coach. Farrell replaced Joe Schmidt after Rugby World Cup 2019 – having spent three years as a member of the New Zealander’s backroom staff – and has led Ireland to two Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2023, and an historic Test series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand. His 78% win percentage marks him down as the most succesful Ireland coach in the modern era.

1. Pieter Benade (Zimbabwe) – 100% (8/8)
The South African has enjoyed a brilliant ride so far as head coach of the Sables, qualifying them for their first RWC since 1991. The former Western Province fly-half was appointed to the role in March 2024 as the successor to Brendan Dawson, and under him, Zimbabwe have won back-to-back Africa Cup and are yet to be beaten.

*Only coaches with 8 Tests or more considered