Rassie Erasmus, as he did in his first year in charge of the Springboks in 2018, continues to transform the national squad in way that speaks to the entire nation. He does it through selection.
The majority of Erasmus’s starting line-up for Saturday’s historic clash against the Barbarian FC are players of colour, with the incomparable Siya Kolisi leading the Springboks for an eighth successive season. That in itself is a remarkable achievement for Kolisi and equally it shows the respect Erasmus has for Kolisi as a player and leader.
The Springboks play the Barbarians in South Africa for the first time in what will be the ninth meeting between the two sides. The Boks have won three, drawn one and lost four, with the last win 25 years ago in Cardiff. The Boks beat a star-studded, Southern Hemisphere dominated Barbarians 41-31.
Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Sharks flanker Vincent Tshituka will play for the Springboks for the first time. They will start.
Replacement hooker Marnus van der Merwe and replacement prop Neethling Fouche are the other uncapped players in the side.
This is not a Test match but it is a Springboks non-international match and the status is that of matches played on tours against provincial and invitational teams.
Erasmus has been consistent with his belief in transformation. He has spoken often about his first introduction to his initial squad selected in 2018. He insisted the Springboks, then ranked seventh in the world, had to be a team that spoke to all of South Africa and not a historical minority. Transformation was and is a non-negotiable for Erasmus. He also emphasised the team had to win more than they lost and win consistently. He added they had to win titles like the Rugby Championship and the World Cup.
He has never wavered in his belief that the Springboks could transform, win and become world champions, which is what they became a year after Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber returned from Munster to lead the Springboks revival.
Erasmus, when he first took charge, was big on improving black player game minutes, as opposed to selecting black players but not giving them opportunity. His mantra was that a player could only be judged if he played.
Black players, led by Kolisi, were adamant that the difference with Erasmus was that he created an environment designed to make the player succeed and picked combinations that gave the player the best chance to blossom.
In an interview I did with Erasmus before his Boks had played their first Test under his watch in 2018, he said: ‘You can’t bullshit yourself. If we can get to a place where we are honest with ourselves about ourselves, we will be in a good space and if we talk transformation, let’s talk playing minutes.’
He picked black players because he believed in them. Not once did Erasmus use his belief in transformation to defend potential defeats or caution against unrealistic expectations. It was simple: Transform and win.
Which the Boks did, winning the Rugby Championship twice, winning the World Cup twice, winning the 2021 British & Irish Lions series, winning successive Tests in the same campaign against the Wallabies in Australia for the first time in the professional age, beating the All Blacks in New Zealand, on neutral ground in London and Paris (in the World Cup final), and beating them in successive Tests in South Africa last season. His transformed Boks beat hosts France in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final, beat England at Twickenham, England at the World Cup in France and beat them in a three-Test series 2-1 in South Africa. The Boks, since 2018, have beaten Wales in a series at home, drawn with Ireland in a two-Test series and beaten every team away from home, with the exception of Ireland to whom they lost in Dublin and lost in the 2023 World Cup Pool stage.
The results, especially from 2021 onwards, have been among the most consistent in winning results in the history of Springboks rugby.
The match-day squads have also been the most transformed in the history of Springboks rugby.
RASSIE’S BOK LEGACY IS TRANSFORMATION MORE SO THAN EVEN WINNING WORLD CUPS
15. Aphelele Fassi, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Damian de Allende, 11. Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Jean-Luc du Preez, 7. Vincent Tshituka*, 6. Siya Kolisi (C), 5. Lood de Jager, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye*, 2. Malcolm Marx, 1. Ox Nche, 16. Marnus van der Merwe*, 17. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18. Neethling Fouché*, 19. Franco Mostert, 20. Kwagga Smith, 21. Cobus Reinach, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. André Esterhuizen.
