--- title: "How Rassie remade the Boks and guided them to the top of world rugby" description: "Erasmus has become the longest-serving head coach, and the numbers show why he will go down in history as one of the greatest." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "THE TRANSFORMER" author: "Jon Cardinelli" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/jon-cardinelli/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-18-how-rassie-remade-the-boks-and-guided-them-to-the-top-of-world-rugby/" published: "2026-07-18T12:34:20" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 1316 --- # How Rassie remade the Boks and guided them to the top of world rugby > Erasmus has become the longest-serving head coach, and the numbers show why he will go down in history as one of the greatest. By Jon Cardinelli · Published 18 July 2026, 14:34 SAST ## Key points - Rassie Erasmus sets a record as the longest-serving Springbok head coach, boasting a remarkable 76% success rate since taking charge. - Under his leadership, the Springboks have won 69 matches, including two World Cups and a series against the British & Irish Lions. - Erasmus has transformed South African rugby by integrating successful national and provincial systems while enhancing player pathways. - With aspirations for future successes, Erasmus is already strategising for upcoming challenges and aims for a historic fourth World Cup title in 2031. ## Content Rassie Erasmus surpassed Jake White as the longest-serving coach in Springbok history when he presided over the Test side’s 42-28 win against Scotland in Pretoria on Saturday, 11 July. Erasmus will extend his record to 56 Tests when the Boks face Wales in Durban this weekend, and there’s a good chance – given that Wales are 12th in the world rankings – that he will improve on his 76% success rate. Last week, SA Rugby president Mark ­Alexander praised Erasmus for all he has done for South African rugby and made mention of Erasmus’s Boks having achieved a winning ratio that is 13% higher than the historical average of 63%. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer took it further: “There is no doubt that Rassie is the greatest coach to ever lead the Springboks and he will rank highly in conversations about the greatest coach to ever take charge of a national team from any country.” The numbers certainly support Oberholzer’s statement, although there are other records and statistics that highlight the extent of Erasmus’s contributions to the team and the sport in South Africa. ![Springbok captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup after the Boks beat the All Blacks 12-11 in the final of RWC 2023 in Paris. (Photo: Tom Jenkins / Getty Images)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/6uRbCq2tXkRsUMpWguTsv1qC7mU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2987/1997837622_743048.jpg) *Springbok captain Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup after the Boks beat the All Blacks 12-11 in the final of RWC 2023 in Paris. (Photo: Tom Jenkins / Getty Images)* ### Eight years in the making It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Erasmus has been in charge of the Boks for longer than four years and 56 Tests. Erasmus has worn many hats since joining the Boks, operating as a dual head coach and director of rugby between 2018 and 2019, as the director of rugby between 2020 and 2023, and as head coach between 2024 and now. He promoted Jacques Nienaber to the head coach position in 2020, but continued to operate as the leader of the rugby department. Nienaber, who previously served as Erasmus’s right-hand man at the Cheetahs, Stormers and Munster, may be the first to admit that the Boks’ title successes between 2020 and 2023 were down to a collaborative coaching effort. Erasmus certainly contributed to the series victory over the British & Irish Lions in 2021 and the World Cup triumph in 2023, and when one takes all the results during this four-year cycle into account, a clearer picture of his achievements starts to emerge. Over the past eight years, Erasmus’s Boks have won 69 Tests, lost 24 and drawn one. This run includes two World Cup titles, a series victory against the Lions and three Rugby Championships, as well as many ­other lesser yet significant milestones. ![P47 JonErasmus](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/BhyuYLhZs0PjRI5BAroDaQRiDF0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2995/TW_0139982_553809.jpeg) *Rassie Erasmus during a match between South Africa and England in Bloemfontein on 16 June 2018.  (Photo: Anton Geyser / Gallo Images)* Erasmus took charge of the Boks when they were ranked seventh in the world, and shortly after they had sustained record-­breaking losses to New Zealand and Ireland. The Boks only managed to win 50% of their matches during his first year at the helm. That mediocre 2018 return certainly puts Erasmus’s overall winning ratio of 73% into perspective and shows how far the team has come. What’s more, the 73% winning record is 10% higher than the historical average. Erasmus’s influence extends beyond the numbers, but one of his favourite mantras is “Let the main thing be the main thing”. Without consistent results, the Boks can’t push forward with other priorities such as development and transformation. Consider how the their results over the past eight years have altered the narrative about South African rugby. Younger fans may struggle to recall the dark days of 2015, 2016 and 2017, when the Boks suffered inaugural losses to Argentina, Japan and Italy, as well as record-breaking defeats to leading teams of the era. Those results punctuated a wildly inconsistent 20-year stretch for South African rugby. The Boks won the 1995 and 2007 World Cups, and beat the Lions in 2009, but never threatened to dominate the game. ![P47 JonErasmus](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/kP_JXPzHIgi6JOwMuv1w2DhNBos=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2995/1997833811_359941.jpg) *Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi embrace after the Boks won the 2023 Rugby World Cup final at the Stade de France in Paris. (Photo: Tom Jenkins / Getty Images)* The historical success rate of 63% confirms as much, and when you delve deeper into that record, you realise how poor past teams were outside South Africa. The results between 2018 and 2026 show how much has changed. Erasmus’s Springboks have beaten every leading nation away from home and won two World Cups outside South Africa. No other Springbok coach has been as successful overseas (Erasmus’s Boks have won 69% of their matches abroad) and it’s worth noting that he has racked up 40 away victories in total. Jake White, the next best coach on the all-time list, only managed to win 36 Tests overall. Would Erasmus have steered the Springboks to such heights without the necessary buy-in from the South African Rugby Union (Saru)? History would suggest not. ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/_fMrdw95Kp40vjQh42gHf9lyPc8=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2995/Rassierecord_472110.jpg) ### Working ways In the past, Saru did not provide the head coach with adequate support, and the South African system as a whole was geared towards the needs of the provinces rather than those of the national team. But when Erasmus returned to South Africa after a stint with Munster in 2018, he was given the leeway and the means to rebuild the national system. When the results started to come in 2019, Saru continued to support Erasmus and his plans. The Boks reached the summit when they won the World Cup in Japan, but, as Erasmus said at the time, that victory was the first step of a much longer journey. Saru and the Bok coaches worked to improve the relationship with the franchises and align the country’s systems with the national team in mind. Coaches travelled around South Africa to meet local Boks and overseas to speak to players of national interest. Much was done to fix the pipeline between schools and professional rugby. It’s taken a while for those changes to bear fruit, but the Junior Springboks could win their second consecutive World Rugby Junior World Championship title when they play France in the final this Saturday. Some of those Junior Springboks have already made the transition to Test rugby, with flyhalf Vusi Moyo and winger Jaco Williams set to start for the senior team against Wales in Durban. If all goes to plan on Saturday, the Boks will stretch their winning streak to 11 matches, and the Junior Boks will win back-to-back world titles. True to form, Erasmus is already looking for ways to improve in the middle and long term. He has used the first phase of the Nations Championship to experiment with combinations that may add value in the Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks next month, as well as at the 2027 World Cup. ![P47 JonErasmus](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/O-RCyYoEuSEJhr0SPRJBDhJ8BXs=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2995/TL_2586401_572635.jpg) *Rassie Erasmus during the Springboks' match against Scotland on 11 July 2026. (Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg / Gallo Images)* Some of the younger players may only become squad regulars in the next four-year cycle, and it’s worth reiterating that Erasmus will continue to coach the Boks until the 2031 World Cup. What might Erasmus’s record look like in five years, when the Springboks return from the global tournament in the US? Will it include back-to-back series wins against the All Blacks and possibly a fourth consecutive World Cup title? Can Erasmus better the win record of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, who famously steered New Zealand to 93 victories in 107 Tests between 2012 and 2019 for a success rate of 87%? Erasmus’s team has already surpassed the great New Zealand side in terms of major trophies. Both teams won back-to-back World Cups, but only the Boks won a Lions series ­outright. If the current systems remain in place, there is a good chance that Erasmus’s side will go where no Test team has gone before. **DM** *This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.* ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/EefPQF_wjhCOBDtqZp24iR8CHhY=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/2995/DM-17072026_449068.jpg)