By Lucky Maree
“And now for my next trick…”
Rassie Erasmus clearly believes in the old saying, “It’s easier to apologise later for something you did than trying to get permission first to do it.”
What, wondered millions of viewers around the globe, was Rassie getting up to this time? He was seen flashing coloured LED lights from the coach’s box down towards the field in Sunday’s match against Scotland.
At one point it looked as if he was giving Manie Libbok instructions to kick for posts when the penalty spot was clearly out of his range.
But Jacques Nienaber, speaking at the media conference after the match, gave a different explanation.
He said, at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille the noise is so loud you can’t hear the support staff on the radios.
“I am sure a lot of teams have systems they use to communicate,” he said.
Fair enough.
But when he was asked if they asked for permission from World Rugby to use the system, he said: “I don’t think you need any permission from World Rugby.”
What he actually meant was, we will do this until somebody stops us.
It was during the 2006 Currie Cup that Rassie Erasmus, then Cheetahs coach, was seen on the roof of Free State Stadium, waving coloured paddles around, earning him the nickname of DJ Rassie.
He also has the well-earned title of “waterboy” to his credit after donning a bib and carrying the water bottles so that he could go onto the field to talk to the players during water breaks during the British and Irish Lions tour last year.
World Rugby changed the rules. They didn’t directly name Rassie as the culprit but said: “The two dedicated water carriers cannot be a Director of Rugby or Head Coach.
Two weeks ago, he ruffled feathers with the 7-1 bench arrangement, elevating the reserves from being the bomb squad to the nuke squad. Against Scotland they reverted to a 6-2 arrangement.
During the match they played wide from the beginning, constantly challenging the Scottish wings to the aerial duel. Result? Darcey Graham and Duhan van der Merwe never got going.
With Rassie, there is always something. Don’t you just love it that he’s on our side?
Pictured above: DJ Rassie with his tools
