By Lucky Vince Pienaar
Successful sports teams, and especially rugby teams, have been known to suddenly develop a different dynamic and, for no specific reason, start moving in the direction of failure.
Rassie Erasmus, considered by many to be the most successful and influential Springbok coach ever, has experienced this dynamic painfully and personally.
Erasmus was a member of Nick Mallett’s all-conquering Springboks who equalled the All Blacks’s record of 17 Test victories in a row and it looked as if nothing could stop them as they marched towards the 1999 World Cup.
And then they lost to England at Twickenham and the wheels fell off, with Australia subsequently emerging victorious.
The weight of success had become too much.
With the 1999 World Cup a few months away, rumours that then Springbok captain Gary Teichmann would not play in the tournament were just one of the problems that caused factions and disunity in the camp.
On the way to the World Cup, the Springboks lost four Tests in a row.
That was the World Cup where Nick Mallett selected the injured Bobby Skinstad ahead of Teichmann to captain the team. Jannie de Beer scored five drop goals to put England out of the cup at the semi-final stage and ironically Australia’s Stephen Larkham scored a drop goal to eliminate the Springboks in the semi-finals.
Things got so bad that Mallett was fired, without a chance to represent himself, allegedly over his comments about ticket prices.
In one of the worst decisions the South African Rugby Football Union ever made, Mallett was replaced as coach by Harry Viljoen. A total disaster. For Rassie personally, he reached a low point in his Springbok career when Viljoen dropped him from the team.
Why did things go wrong?
Rassie will be aware that when great teams reach the pinnacle of success they can go down.
And what a pinnacle the Boks have reached! Four World Cup victories in eight appearances is one helluva achievement.
But there are already a few warning signs. Of course, Jacques Nienaber is gone, which may or may not be a problem, but can the Bok unity be maintained when they are only playing their next match in July?
There are a lot of unhappy faces on the Sharks side. Will Rassie see that as a problem he has to sort out? Will the stars of 2023 still be up for it in 2027? Rassie would be foolish (which he isn’t) to ignore the renewed passion in New Zealand with Razor Robertson at the All Blacks wheel.
Rassie is not the kind of guy who shies away from a challenge, but he will know he’s in for a tough four years.
Will the weight of success be too much for him to handle? We wait.
Pictured above: Rassie Erasmus.
Image source: X
