Bongi Mbonambi believes South Africa’s rapid rise under Rassie Erasmus from laughing stock to World Cup contenders is down to the coach’s willingness to pick players on form and not be swayed by loyalty or colour.
The Springboks will reach their third World Cup final if they defeat Wales in Yokohama on Sunday, two years after an
abject defeat in Cardiff prompted the South African union to make Erasmus, who had just returned from Munster, the national side’s head coach on top of his job as director of rugby.
“Rassie has made a massive difference,” said Mbonambi, who ousted Malcolm Marx, widely regarded as one of the best hookers in the world, from South Africa’s the starting lineup this tournament and was one of seven non‑white players in the team that faced Japan on Sunday.
“That difference has not just been to the South Africa team, because his decisions have affected the whole nation. He is a coach who has an honest opinion about every player and he is not someone who does things behind closed doors but he does it openly and everyone knows about it.
“Players have respect for someone who is honest and open and says what he is looking for. It gives you more freedom to go out there and express yourself: he does not put you in a box and that has been one of his outstanding features.”
Asked whether one of Erasmus’s decisions that impacted on the nation was the appointment of Siya Kolisi as captain, the first black player to be given the post in a Test, Mbonambi replied: “Not just that. I know that if I say something the media will turn it around and put it in a different way.....
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