Rassie Erasmus has been hailed as a \u201cbrilliant innovator\u201d by the boss of World Rugby but urged to work with the governing body to \u201cmake the system better\u201d rather than criticise match officials in public.<\/b><\/p>\n
Erasmus is in Johannesburg, where South Africa kick off the defence of their Rugby Championship crown against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The two-time World Cup-winning coach divides opinion between those proclaiming his undoubted rugby genius and those unwilling to overlook criticism of referees which fuelled online hate and led to him twice being suspended.<\/p>\n
Embrace Rassie Erasmus<\/p>\n
Last year, despite leading the Springboks<\/a> to their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 followed by an unbeaten tour of Britain, Erasmus lost out on the World Coach of the Year award to the sevens coach of France.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think Rassie<\/a> is a big favourite in World Rugby<\/a> to be honest,\u201d was the blunt reaction of former Springbok star Schalk Burger.<\/p>\n During his time as chief executive of that very organisation, Alan Gilpin has seen Erasmus retain the Webb Ellis Cup. He has also seen the 52-year-old twice banned by the organisation he leads.<\/p>\n Which makes his take on the head coach of the sport\u2019s number one ranked men\u2019s international team, given exclusively to Planet Rugby, worth hearing.<\/p>\n \u201cMy personal view is we need to embrace [what Erasmus brings to rugby],\u201d says Gilpin. \u201cI\u2019ve spent time one-on-one with Rassie. We\u2019ve banned him, twice, in my tenure!<\/p>\n \u201cRassie can be very confronting because he is incredibly passionate about rugby. He is incredibly passionate about what rugby means to the South African public \u2013 and his responsibility, as he sees it, in that regard.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that\u2019s challenging and confronting. A bit non-rugby like sometimes. But the guy is a brilliant innovator. What a brilliant thinker of the game he is. You want innovators, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n There were the traffic light signals sent from the stands during the last World Cup<\/a> to communicate messages to the pitch. The purposeful infringement from the kick-off against Italy last month in order to secure an immediate scrum. The lifting a player in the air lineout-style during phase play, in the same game, to set up a maul. And so much more besides.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like early Arsene Wenger,\u201d says Gilpin. \u201cHe comes in and says, \u2018Actually, why are we doing that like that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Jones: I inherited Rassie Erasmus\u2019 Springbok laptop, I couldn\u2019t believe my eyes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n