Latest news with #Rassie+
The Citizen
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Nick Mallett: Rassie made Springboks biggest team in SA
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett lauds Rassie Erasmus for all but stamping out provincialism and getting their compatriots behind the back-to-back world champions. Mallett, in the latest Rassie+ podcast, believes Erasmus has succeeded where his predecessors have failed, and how public support has become a key strength of the national team. Mallett, who coached South Africa to a record 17 straight Test wins between 1997 and 1998, was Erasmus' coach for most of his 36-cap career. Reflecting on the pressures of coaching the Boks, the ex-Stade Francais and Italy chief acknowledged how difficult media scrutiny had been during his time. 'A media person can turn the public against you in no time at all,' Mallett recalled. 'With the Gary [Teichmann] thing, the whole of Durban and Natal turned on me. I couldn't go and visit there without getting something thrown at me. 'Because I was English-speaking and didn't speak Afrikaans, I didn't have support in Bloemfontein. And in the end, I was probably not supported by any of the media.' Yet Mallett praised Erasmus for how he has shifted the narrative. 'What you've done is not go out and ask them to support you, it's giving them information. Enough that they understand what you're trying to do,' he said. 'Then they understand better why you play a certain way or make certain changes. And what you've created – and the only Springbok coach who's done it – is to make the Springboks bigger than the provinces, which it always should be.' Erasmus, who helped guide the Boks to World Cup glory in 2019 and 2023, said understanding the media's role was something he had to learn the hard way. ICYMI: Barbarians to tackle Boks in SA for first time 'I for sure didn't have an understanding of the media in my first five years of coaching,' the former Cheetahs and Stormers coach admitted. 'I totally bugged it up. I actually thought they were the enemy.' He said things changed for him when he got the Bok job in 2018, as the national setup started engaging media and fans more proactively. 'When we started everybody was hashtag this, hashtag that and they came up with #StrongerTogether and we had a workshop and we said, 'but what does stronger together mean?' 'The players and coaches do the main job: coach well, play well. But the media, if we keep them informed in the right way – not giving secrets – then they report correctly, and fans better understand what they see on Saturday.' Mallett agreed. 'Now you got to Greenpoint Stadium, there'll be 38,000 supporters and the Bulls are playing; there'll be Bulls supporters in the crowd but everyone's having a good time. No one's saying, 'we're gonna donner [beat up] a oke or have a fight. 'Collectively, we support the Springboks, that's what drives the country at the moment. And the local competition is important but not in the way that it was in those days, it was almost a political thing in those days. 'To transform the team and still win – that was your biggest challenge. And hell, you've done that well.' Erasmus added: 'There was this tribal thing [in the past] and people even counted – the Bulls were winning the Currie Cup, why is there only six Bulls players in, why is there only five Stormers or two Cheetahs. 'You had to deal with stuff like that because it [media engagement] wasn't fully professional, people didn't understand that you can track players and there's stats and all that.' The post Mallett: Rassie made Boks biggest team in SA appeared first on SA Rugby Magazine.
The South African
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Nick Mallett hails Rassie Erasmus for building a strong transformed Springbok team
Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has hailed Rassie Erasmus for building a united South African rugby team. Erasmus took over as head coach of the Springboks in 2018 and led the team to victory in the Rugby World Cup the following year. The 52-year-old coach played a vital role behind the scenes, ensuring that the Springboks retained their title in 2023. After Jacques Nienaber resigned, Rassie returned for his second tenure as head coach. Speaking on the Rassie+ podcast, Mallett applauded Rassie's openness on transforming the Springboks team. 'What you've done is not go out and ask them to support you, it's giving them information. Enough that they understand what you're trying to do,' Mallett told Erasmus. 'Then they understand better why you play a certain way or make certain changes. And what you've created – and the only Springbok coach who's done it – is to make the Springboks bigger than the provinces, which it always should be. 'To transform the team and still win – that was your biggest challenge. And hell, you've done that well,' Mallet added. In terms of winning over the media, Malltet said he was not so fortunate. Between 1997 and 1998, the 68-year-old coached South Africa to a record 17 straight Test wins. 'A media person can turn the public against you in no time at all,' Mallett said to Rassie during the podcast. 'With the Gary [Teichmann] thing, the whole of Durban and Natal turned on me. I couldn't go and visit there without getting something thrown at me. 'Because I was English-speaking and didn't speak Afrikaans, I didn't have support in Bloemfontein. And in the end, I was probably not supported by any of the media.' Mallett coached Rassie Erasmus during his tenure with the Boks from 1997 to 2000. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
03-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Nick Mallett: Rassie Erasmus built a united Springbok team through transparency
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus says he no longer views the media as the enemy. Image: Backpagepix Rassie Erasmus' transparency as the Springboks' boss has been one of the hallmarks of his trophy-laden tenure. Besides building squad depth, always looking to innovate and evolve and building an unmatched winning culture, Erasmus' honesty and straight talk when tackling sensitive issues has seen him unite South Africa's rugby fan base that has so often been driven along provincial lines. Erasmus promoted honesty and transparency from the get-go when he was appointed coach in 2018. He spoke about the need to transform the Springboks to represent a democratic South Africa and bring the country together while building towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. It's something his predecessors failed at, with bad results and transformation failures in the seven years leading up to his appointment. The South African rugby public was tired of being misled. They were tired of lip service and empty promises. Erasmus seemed to learn from the past mistakes that hampered the Springboks by being forthright about his plans and then sticking to it. It's something that former Springboks coach Nick Mallett really admires and says it's been the key to propelling the South Africa back to the top of World Rugby's pecking order. Mallett, in the latest Rassie+ podcast, believes the Springboks are in a really good place on and off the field because of Erasmus' openness. 'What you've done is not go out and ask them to support you, it's giving them information. Enough that they understand what you're trying to do,' Mallett told Erasmus on the podcast. 'Then they understand better why you play a certain way or make certain changes. And what you've created – and the only Springbok coach who's done it – is to make the Springboks bigger than the provinces, which it always should be. 'To transform the team and still win – that was your biggest challenge. And hell, you've done that well.' Erasmus, however, admitted that he had a mindset shift about working with the media to get his points and ideas across to the people of South Africa.
