Rassie Erasmus has committed many sins as head coach and director of rugby. He has publicly criticised referees and attacked foreign journalists on social media, sending barbs that had at least the whiff of sexism and xenophobia. He’s called Ireland ‘soft’ and even found a way to smack-talk the lovable Brave Blossoms of Japan. Except for Elon Musk, he is perhaps the least popular South African outside of his home country.
Which is a shame for a man who is so clearly sensitive and introspective. Try as he might to convince the rest of the world he is not Darth Vader leading a team of remorseless stormtroopers, this image has calcified. Even after a considered charm offensive this autumn, the final interview he conducted with TNT Sports before the England Test on Saturday centred on this theme. “I don’t like annoying people, I promise you,” he said with a shake of his head and an apologetic smile.
But there is one sin he has never committed and that is publicly criticising his players. If you can find any examples of this please share your evidence in the comment section below. Several hours of research and extensive texts to a range of coaches, journalists, players and fans have yielded just two examples. However, neither really counts.
The first was revealed in the second season of Chasing the Sun when, after the loss to Ireland at the World Cup, Erasmus called his players “liars” and shamed them for not taking themselves or their responsibilities to the country seriously. But this footage was only distributed after their triumph in Paris and was addressed to the players directly in private.
The second example (which also doesn’t count) came this year after Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was secretive about his knee injury before a Test against the All Blacks. Erasmus said his star rookie was “lucky” he didn’t cost his team the game. But rather than chastise him, he sought to remind the young fly-half there was something greater than his own ambitions on the line.
This might wash if 17 of Borthwick’s players hadn’t just recently signed special contracts that now grant the RFU and the head coach greater control over their strength and conditioning.
Why is all of this relevant? Because this week, after losing his third home Test in a row, his fifth consecutive Test around the world, and his 14th reverse from 27 games in charge, England’s coach, Steve Borthwick, offered an explanation for his cohort’s shortcomings. Rather than take the blame, he hung his troops out to dry.
“At the start of this [autumn] series, you looked at the condition of the players and it wasn’t quite where it needed to be for Test match rugby, for teams stepping straight into Test match rugby,” said the coach with a 38% win record against Tier One opposition, a record that drops to 20% when Wales and Italy are removed from the equation.
Maybe this is true, but why hurl that bone to the press? And what sort of message does this send to those players who have no doubt put themselves through torment, who have sacrificed their minds and bodies to prime themselves for Test rugby, who have found extra gears they didn’t know they had to prove their worth for their country? Was their graft unnoticed? Are they included in the players Borthwick has mentioned or are they now looking around a dressing room and wondering which of their teammates are shirkers?
This might wash if 17 of Borthwick’s players hadn’t recently signed special contracts granting the RFU and head coach greater control over their strength and conditioning. Though they only took effect last month, mitigating any immediate fitness gains, these deals have been in the pipeline for some time. So if the team is not fit enough, surely the man in charge must shoulder some of the blame. And if he needs additional help, then why was the much-respected and successful fitness guru, Aled Walters, allowed to leave for a rival? Whatever the reason for Walters’ departure, the fact Borthwick has shipped more assistant coaches this autumn than he’s won matches at least suggests not all is right within the camp.
If all of this seems harsh then let’s consider a separate line Borthwick has rolled out that, from a certain angle, looks like another excuse. In his pre-match notes for the game against Australia, a week after his team once again failed to execute when it mattered against New Zealand, England’s boss explained his charges are young and inexperienced. They’re a work in progress. Patience was required as these green shoots would eventually transform into mighty oaks.
But 10 of his players are older than 30. As many as 17 of them have more than 20 Test caps. Ten have more than half a century and six are British and Irish Lions. One can spin this like a Sri Lankan mystery bowler but the plain truth does not match the rhetoric.
Honesty does not simply mean speaking the truth. Perhaps some honesty with the fans on the style of rugby Borthwick intends to play would help alleviate some of the mounting pressure
Does this mean Borthwick is the wrong man for the job? Not necessarily. Erasmus, with genuine sincerity, conveyed his sympathy for a coach who is plainly struggling against the tide. “I’ve been there and certainly know how quickly that can get to you,” he said.
But that isn’t quite true either. Sure, Erasmus took charge of the Springboks when the team was at its lowest ebb, but he has never lost five in a row or three home games on the bounce. In 2018 he lost consecutive away games to Argentina and Australia and then again to New Zealand (in Pretoria) and England (in London) to end the year with a 50% record. But this was as bad as it got and after 26 matches in charge Erasmus had won 17, including the World Cup final.
So no, Erasmus has not been where Borthwick is right now, but the Springboks and their fans are all too familiar with the malaise their English counterparts are facing. Before Erasmus, South Africa made losing a habit under Allister Coetzee. If those with their hands on the levers of power in Twickenham really want to take inspiration from South Africa, they might be inclined to pull the plug on this project before things really get out of control.
“The RFU should be insisting he gets it…”
– OPINION: Andy Goode on the England appointment that must happen to save Steve Borthwick. #ENGvJPN #EnglandRugby #AutumnNationsSeries #rugby
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2024
That is not what this piece is advocating for but some honesty is required. That should start with Borthwick himself. If the team is unfit then he should accept blame. If the defence, which has leaked 12 tries in three Tests, is porous, then he needs to acknowledge the current plan of a rush system is not working. He needs to recognise his best player is not necessarily qualified to run a structured game and if he is to play 80 minutes then the rest of the team needs to shift in turn. Honesty does not simply mean speaking the truth. Perhaps some honesty with the fans on the style of rugby he intends to play would help alleviate some of the mounting pressure.
Borthwick came to the job with a reputation as a straight shooter. At Leicester, where he took control of a once dynastic club falling short of expectation, he conveyed a no-nonsense demeanour while leaning on a rugby philosophy rooted in doing the basics well. This is also what earned him 57 caps for his country and almost 400 club appearances.
While steering the Tigers to their first Premiership title in nine years, he was an almost intimidating presence at press conferences and post-match chats. He’d tower over you while staring through your eyes. He was an alpha in full control steered by a steadfast sense of mission. The thought of him chewing out his players then was almost unthinkable.
These past three weeks he’s cut a somewhat dejected figure. Sitting at the top table after three losses has made him look smaller. He might have the backing of the RFU, as he says, but he knows fans are losing patience. As a devoted lover of English rugby, this must weigh heavily on him. The truth, with those fans, with his players, and with himself, might set him free.
Steve Borthwick appointment was misguided based on two flawed premises.
1. An overblown sense of the quality of the premiership rugby. The gap between the Premiership and Test rugby is enormous
2. England needed an English coach who understood English Rugby and it's traditional strengths.
SB won the premiership and was an England forward and did a great job with the Japanese forwards but neither of those qualify you as a tier 1 test manager.
Maybe Felix Jones and Aled Walter's departures are down to the fact that SB is a details man, which work at club level but at test level you need the manager to manage and let the coaches get on and do what they are employed for.
SB criticism of players is straight out of Eddie Jones playbook but his loyalty to keeping out of form players borne out of his perceived sense of betrayal as a player.
In all it doesn't stack up as the qualities needed to be a modern Test coach /Manager
Anyone that knows anything about rugby sees Rassie as a shrewd and smart operator. Someone who isn’t only unafraid of change but who initiates it and embraces it for positive gain. A wily coyote of a coach who has blazed a path littered with success. Sure there’s been a few bumps along the way but his record is there for all to see, unmatched. And he’s done it his way to boot…!
🏆🏆
Jeepers does the rest of the world really see Rassie as this evil “Dathvader leading stormtroopers”? I mean really?
I agree with DrinkAway... that the ref video was disappointing, or worse, but otherwise I think he's fantastic in terms of results, evolving the style of the Boks and bringing in new people and ideas to keep the magic alive. I've been watching international rugby for over 50 years and for me he's among the very best. I don't know if he would want to, but it's interesting to think about how he might improve the performance of other nations if he had the opportunity.
I was pretty disappointed when he did that ref video during the lions series, other than that he’s mostly looked more like someone’s Dad coaching the U8s more than a drill sergeant authority type.
obviously that's hyperbole, but he hasn't generally come across as very likeable.
Borthwick should not be saying things like this, regardless of their truth.
He should be under-committing and over-delivering, to give the team a shot at rising to the top over the longer term. Having said that, it did not work for Eddie Jones. The RFU administrators don't like that kind of thing.
He's coaching like Eddie V2 did in Australia...You need someone with bigger balls and an understanding of what to do to improve what is going on. It is a dynamic environment that is constantly changing as coaches dream up new ways to win. He is like an automaton of Eddie's creation.
This article only shows a part of SBs failings as England Coach. Firstly his reputation st Leicester was false, his SA and Welsh players won the matches not his coaching prowess. He has Wigglesworth as attack coach, someone who rarely attacked when playing. His player selection is awful, ignoring form players and sticking with failed internationals. He picks players that he knows and will be easy to manage for him. What on earth is Slade doing when even for Exeter he does not make line breaks with steppping, pace or guile, why on earth are Cole,George,Steward,Ford,Iseweke and a few other anywhere near the Team. Borthwick is awful as Head Coach of England.
The Tigers reputation baffles me; he had one good season when they won the prem. The following season when the RFU came calling, they were struggling.
He’s then surrounded himself with young, callow coaches. That might work at club level where you might be allowed a season or two for it to bed in, but not at this level.
He’s inability to hang onto those with experience (Jones and Walters) doesn’t bode well.