Rassie Erasmus

Did You Know?

• Erasmus was diagnosed with microscopic polyangiitis with granulomatosis in 2019.
• He married Nicolene, a former nurse, before 2003; they have three daughters.
• He has said, 'I find social occasions difficult ... I'm a quiet, uncomplicated person.'

Playing career

Erasmus began his elite rugby career with Free State during the 1994 Currie Cup. After professionalism arrived in 1995, he developed as a leading loose forward and was selected for Free State's debut Super 12 season in 1997. He made his test debut for South Africa on 5 July 1997 against the British & Irish Lions in Johannesburg, a match the home side won 35–16. In his second test, on 23 August 1997 against Australia, he started at flank and scored a try in a 61–22 victory in Pretoria.

Erasmus featured in 15 of the 17-match consecutive win streak the Springboks recorded between 1997 and late 1998. South Africa secured their first Tri Nations title in 1998 with four wins from four matches. He joined the Cats ahead of the 1998 Super 12 season and captained them from 1999 to 2000, leading the side to the 2000 Super 12 semi-finals. In 2001 he was controversially stripped of the captaincy by coach Laurie Mains; both Erasmus and Mains left the club at season's end.

Erasmus captained South Africa for one test against Australia during the 1999 Tri Nations and was named in the 30-man squad for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, playing all but one match as the Springboks finished third after losing to Australia in the semi-final and defeating New Zealand in the third-place play-off.

Coaching and management career

Erasmus began coaching in 2004 as head coach of Free State Cheetahs for the Vodacom Cup, leading them to the semi-finals. In 2005 he stepped up to the Currie Cup and guided Free State to their first title since 1976. The following year he led the Cheetahs into their debut Super 14 season, finishing tenth, and the side retained the Currie Cup, sharing it with the Blue Bulls after a 28–28 draw. After the 2007 Super 14, Erasmus became technical adviser to the Springboks ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but soon left to join Western Province as director of rugby for the 2007 Currie Cup.

He was named Stormers head coach for the 2008 Super 14, improving the team from tenth to fifth. In mid-2009 the region restructured, making Erasmus senior professional coach while Allister Coetzee became head coach; the Stormers and Western Province both reached finals in 2010 but finished as runners-up. In 2011 the Stormers topped their conference and made the semi-finals for a second straight year. Erasmus served as a technical specialist for the Springboks at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, where South Africa lost to Australia in the quarter-finals.

He quit the region in January 2012 to seek other options. In April 2012 he was appointed General Manager: High Performance teams for South African Rugby, also acting as an assistant to head coach Heyneke Meyer during training camps.

Controversies

Erasmus has been highly critical of referees after matches. In November 2021 he received a two-month ban from World Rugby for comments about refereeing during the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, found guilty of attacking and denigrating match officials. He also acted as a water boy during that tour to give on-pitch instructions, which Lions coach Warren Gatland criticised as unsporting; World Rugby subsequently banned head coaches from serving as water carriers in 2022.

Erasmus uses social media to complain about refereeing, starting a Twitter account after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Three months before his suspension, he was suspected of using a burner account to criticise referees Nic Berry and Ben O'Keeffe. In November 2022, after Springboks losses to Ireland and France, he posted videos with ironic messages about referee calls. Former international referee Nigel Owens condemned his behaviour, and other columnists called the comments bitter or ridiculous.

On 17 November 2022 he was suspended again for two matches. Referee Wayne Barnes later revealed that his family received threats, including rape threats to his wife and targeting of his children, following Erasmus's tweets.

Honours

As a player, Erasmus won the Tri Nations in 1998 and a bronze medal at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. As a coach, he led South Africa to Rugby World Cup victories in 2019 and 2023, and won The Rugby Championship in 2019, 2024, and 2025. He received the World Rugby Coach of the Year award in 2019. On 2 May 2024 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in coaching science from the NWU, and in May 2026 he was bestowed the National Order of Ikhamanga by the South African government.