Rassie Erasmus, Director of Rugby at SARU can rightfully claim to be the newsmaker of 2021 in the world of rugby. However, depending on which side of the fence you find yourself, you will see him as either a hero or villain.
What nobody will doubt is that Erasmus is a brilliant coach and tactician. He did win the World Cup as a coach and is still in charge of the Springboks who managed to remain at number 1 in world rugby, during a very testing year for the Springboks.
For most of the South African rugby supporters, Rassie's "referee" video was justified and the only manner to address the "unfair" treatment of the Springboks and Siya Kolisi during the first test against the touring B&I Lions.
We discuss Rassie Erasmus' Video
Unfortunately for South Africa, the video of our Director of Rugby only achievement was the cementing of South Africa's image as the skunk of world rugby. This image of South Africa suits the majority of South Africa's "victim" mentality. Everybody in South Africa is currently a "victim" of something which they use to guide them in making decisions that will determine their future.
The rest of the rugby fraternity never disputed the facts as presented in the video. It was however the total disregard of the rules and regulations of World Rugby that was criticized and led to the disciplinary actions taken against SARU and Erasmus himself. And guilty he was.
Then Erasmus discovered social media. Initially, I was a supporter of his informative posts on his interaction with the Springboks, his selection criteria and several other interesting issues. I did not always agree with his videos but he was a Springbok, World Cup winning Coach and current Director of Rugby at SARU, and had a recipe that worked.
Unfortunately, Erasmus and his social media "advisors" then decided to add a personal touch to his "social media personality". Admittingly this has added tens of thousands of followers to his social media accounts. However, in my personal opinion, this is not what "should be" expected from a person employed as the Director of Rugby at SARU.
Villain or hero? My side of the fence will remember him as a true rugby genius destined for greatness but let down by his desperate need for attention and empty popularity.
