Springbok head coach, Rassie Erasmus has signed on to coach the national team until 2031 and could leave behind a dynasty by the time he finishes his tenure. Picture: Gareth Everett/Gallo Images Springbok messiah Rassie Erasmus has signed a four-year contract extension that will see him continue to coach the national team through to the 2031 World Cup in the USA. In 2018, when Erasmus first came on board, after the disastrous two-year reign of Allister Coetzee, he took the dual role of Director of Rugby and head coach until the end of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Technically, Erasmus then wasn’t in charge of the Boks from 2020 to 2023, with him switching full time to the Director of Rugby role, while Jacques Nienaber took over as head coach, but he still had a big say in things, as was seen in a few controversies during that time. He made an hour-long video criticising Australian referee Nic Berry after the British and Irish Lions won the first Test of the 2021 series against the Boks, which was subsequently leaked and led to a ban from World Rugby. He also, somewhat controversially, acted as the Bok team’s water carrier, keeping him close to the action on the field.
Erasmus also used coloured lights and placards to communicate to coaches and players on the field during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, as he did with the Cheetahs back in 2006 – an indication that while he wasn’t the coach, he was still very much in charge of things. However, the record books will show that Nienaber was the coach over those four years and not Erasmus. He then dropped the Director of Rugby role at the end of 2023 and signed on as head coach until after the2027 World Cup in Australia, with Nienaber moving on to Ireland.
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But could Erasmus even coach beyond 2031? If his unparalleled success with the Boks continues, it certainly is a possibility as he will turn 59 in November of that year. Warren Gatland is the currently the longest ever serving international rugby coach with one team, having coached Wales for just over 14 years over two stints, first from 2008 to 2019, and then from 2023 until he was relieved of his duties halfway through the Six Nations earlier this year.
In that time, he coached Wales in 151 Test matches, while his overall record is close to 200 when his stints as Ireland and British and Irish Lions coach are added in. Other long serving coaches for one team are All Blacks legends Steve Hansen, eight years and 109 games, and Graham Henry, eight years and 106 matches.
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