Cape Town – Rassie Erasmus may be loved by some and irritate many others in the greater rugby world, but there is no doubt that the current Springbok squad are loyal to their 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning coach.
Wing Cheslin Kolbe says Erasmus was “a really fantastic coach to play under and be coached by, and just a phenomenal human off the field” during an interview on The Telegraph Rugby Podcast this week.
The 50-year-old mentor had just returned from a lengthy World Rugby ban for the British and Irish Lions refereeing saga for the Test against Ireland in Dublin last November.
But following the defeats to the Irish and France on the end-of-year tour, the former loose forward was suspended by World Rugby once more for the Tests against Italy and England after he posted videos on social media highlighting a number of incidents from both games that could have been viewed as being critical of the match officials.
ALSO READ: Cheslin Kolbe on leaving SA: When you are smaller and you make mistakes, people just jump on you
It led to social media threats against referee Wayne Barnes and his family after the Englishman had been in charge of the French Test.
“World Rugby condemns any public criticism of match official selection, performance or integrity, which undermines their role, the trust-based coach/match officials feedback process and the values of integrity, respect, solidarity and discipline that are at the heart of the sport,” the governing body said.
Before World Rugby’s statement was issued, Erasmus posted screenshots of his previous tweets with a caption: “Like myself, the referee of the French test (Wayne Barnes) & his family have received threats & abuse.
“Apparently it’s partly due to my tweets, which is totally unfounded. Tweets were not aimed at the officials, but to our (SA) fans on what we should do better. Have a go at me not the ref!!”
This week, Kolbe spoke about his admiration for Erasmus, who had provided him with his big breakthrough during the 2018 Rugby Championship, and he went on to excel in the triumphant 2019 World Cup campaign as well.
ALSO READ: No sweat ... Ulster come up with a cunning plan to defeat Durban heat in Sharks clash
Asked what he thought of Erasmus – who is the director of rugby at SA Rugby at the moment – following the latest ban, Kolbe said: “It just shows you how much he cares about the Springboks and how much he cares about South Africa.
“He just wants the team to always be treated fairly, and he would go out of his way to make sure that that is the case.
“I think he is very passionate about rugby, and every person will know that by now – who Coach Rassie is. He’s just an incredible human, on and off the field.
“I got to know Coach Rassie when I started playing under him in 2018… Just his sense of the game and thinking is out of this world.
ALSO READ: ‘Form can definitely influence’ Rugby World Cup selection says Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber
“I haven’t been part of a coaching team where there is so much detail, and a lot of thought that goes into preparation, and the way you see and analyse other teams.
“He’s taught me quite a lot, and I take my hat off to Coach Rassie for coming in at a difficult time, and managing to turn a lot around in quite a short period of time, obviously leading to a World Cup in 2019.
“A really fantastic coach to play under and be coached by, and just a phenomenal human off the field. He cares a lot about the players – their health, their families, and just wanting the best for them.
“As everybody knows, the ban that he got was all for the Springboks and the players at the time. But really exciting, and a really good guy to have on your side and learn from at the same time.”
@ashfakmohamed