Johan Erasmus and Scott Maurice Robertson have been ‘rivals’ since their playing days in the 1990s, a rivalry that has spilt over into their coaching careers.
Both are peculiar, offbeat characters – each with unusual traits, a breakdancer against a disco dancer.
Yet, they are also excellent friends, having shared cold beverages and stories for over two decades.
On Saturday their teams – the world’s No.1 ranked team South Africa against the third-ranked New Zealand – will face off in a crucial Rugby Championship encounter at Ellis Park.
Apart from the crucial points at stake, it will add another chapter to the Rassie versus Razor saga.
They are the type of characters that have added some very delightful and colourful idiosyncrasies to the game and the media briefings that have become very sanitised and cliched.
While Erasmus has returned to the Bok coaching gig – having been in charge in 2018 and 2019, before handing over to Jacques Nienaber for four years – Robertson is new to the Test arena, having taken over from Ian Foster.
Despite the rivalry and the importance of Saturday’s duel, they are very gracious and complimentary in their comments on each other.
Erasmus described Robertson as a “fantastic” coach in a “rugby-mad” country, but he felt the loss of some key players from his triumphant Crusaders era – including star flyhalf Richie Mo’unga – would make his job a little more tricky.
“If you lose the core of your Crusaders players and you try a new player at No.10, and you strike Argentina on the wrong day, that doesn’t make Razor a bad coach,” Erasmus told a media briefing in the build-up to Saturday’s Test.
While both were loose forwards in their playing days, Erasmus quipped that he has a ‘size/weight’ advantage – being “fatter” than the very athletic Robertson.
“We played [Super Rugby] in the Cheetahs and Cats against the Crusaders against each other,” the Bok coach said.
“I’ve had a few beers with him on many occasions.
“He would know this stadium [Ellis Park] well and you will remember his breakdance when he won the Super Rugby trophy [against the Lions in the 2017 Final].
“Their coaching structure is too good not to get it right.”
(Article continues below the Erasmus interview …)
Robertson was reciprocal with the commendations when he addressed the media in the build-up to Saturday’s face-off.
“We have shared a few beers and a few stories after the games over the years,” he said about the rivalry.
“We built a rapport and connected.
“You look at players who go into coaching after they played and you look at his [Erasmus’] journey and how he got to where he got is a pretty remarkable story – [having] won a couple of World Cup titles.
“He has [disco] lights up in the [coaches] box and seven forwards on the bench.
“It is awesome.
“He is his own man.
“What’s in his head he tells you and he is pretty unique.”
Robertson added that Erasmus is one of the benchmarks of coaching in the game.
“He has all that success and you have to respect that.”
The duel between the two, Rassie and Razor, may just be the rivalry that can save the game from becoming a sanitised collection of cliches – the entertainment the sport so desperately needs.
Scott Maurice Robertson was born on 21 August 1974.
Johan Erasmus was born on 5 November 1972.
By Annemie Bester & Jan de Koning
@rugby365com
