Eben Etzebeth says players who don’t buy into Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok plan simply won’t get selected.
When Erasmus was appointed head coach in March 2018, the Boks were ranked sixth in the world and at their lowest ebb after a disastrous 2017 season that included a record 57-0 defeat to the All Blacks.
Since then, the Boks have won the 2019 World Cup, defeated the British & Irish Lions in the 2021 series, retained their world title in 2023 and claimed back-to-back Rugby Championship crowns for the first time in 2024 and 2025.
Etzebeth has been at the heart of that success throughout Erasmus’ spells as head coach and director of rugby, becoming South Africa’s most-capped Test player with 141 appearances.
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Speaking on The Verdict podcast, the veteran lock explained how Erasmus turned things around.
“Rassie came in and got everyone aligned,” Etzebeth said. “The core of the group stayed from 2016 and 2017, but he got everyone believing in the plan.
“There wasn’t, ‘No, my plan is better,’ or this or that. The players just bought in.
“He always says you can be the best player, but it doesn’t mean you’re the right guy for the team.
“He doesn’t always select the best player at URC level because he feels that player might not be the right fit for the team at that moment.
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“I think he got that right and the guys just bought in.
“Being a Springbok became special again. We were willing to go to dark places to get victories and results. In the past it was almost like you were just happy to be a Springbok. Rassie got that belief, hunger and excitement back.”
Etzebeth said Erasmus’ message to players is simple: commit fully or miss out.
“If you don’t buy in, it doesn’t matter who you are,” he said. “You’re not going to get a fine or anything like that. You’re just not going to get selected.”
Etzebeth also credited the coaching team around Erasmus.
“Their work ethic and the way they analyse the opposition, it feels like they’re always one step ahead.
“I don’t know if you’ve watched Prison Break, but there’s a guy on there, Michael Scofield. He was always one step ahead.
“Every time people thought they were going to catch him, he’d already planned for it.
“That’s how Rassie is with the way he does things. He’ll do something today, but he’s already thinking about what’s coming next.”
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Erasmus has become renowned for pushing rugby’s tactical boundaries, from introducing the now-famous Bomb Squad to embracing in-field lineout moves and selecting hybrid players.
“He says even if you think it’s a bad plan, if everyone buys into it and everyone does it, it can actually become a good plan,” Etzebeth said. “With all the different things he tries and all the different moves, we just buy in.
“It’s not like in some environments where a coach comes with a suggestion and senior players think one thing, junior players think another and then it doesn’t work.
“With him, we just buy in. Most of it works.”
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Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
The post Eben: It’s Rassie’s way or the highway appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Eben Etzebeth says players who don’t buy into Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok plan simply won’t get selected.
The post Eben: It’s Rassie’s way or the highway appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
