Nienaber return to Rassie's Springbok dream team would be cherry on top for World Cup

Almost two years to the day before the 2027 World Cup final in Australia, Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber met for lunch in Dublin.

They have been friends since their conscription days in the South African army and rugby collaborators for almost as long, apart from the last two years, when Nienaber broke away to coach at Leinster.

After their catch-up last week, both made coy comments in the media about a possible restoration of the partnership that spearheaded the Boks’ back-to-back World Cup victories in 2019 and 2023.

For Springboks fans, it was an appetising sideshow ahead of the mega match against Ireland. For the rest of the world, it signals that an already formidable Springbok setup could become even stronger.

The astonishing form of the Springboks in 2025 — this column was written before the Ireland game — has had the world in awe, and there is broad consensus that this team still has substantial room for advancement. Nienaber’s penchant for pinpoint analysis would be a razor-sharp arrow for Erasmus to add to his burgeoning coaching quiver.

Nienaber will finish with Leinster at the end of next year and will be a free agent. How could he resist being part of South Africa’s bid to win three consecutive World Cups? Such a feat is highly unlikely to ever be repeated, and the bid gains credibility almost every time the Boks take the field.

No wonder Nienaber wistfully said, “I miss the Springboks, I really miss the group. One never knows. But I must make sure that I am still relevant enough and continue to evolve. As a coach, you must still be creative, find different ways, better ways of doing things, and then life will take care of itself.”

Nienaber is not the only one to have missed the all-conquering Springbok setup. Felix Jones also left after the 2023 triumph, pinning his colours to the England mast, only to realise almost immediately that the grass was not greener. The ink on his resignation letter to the RFU was barely dry when Erasmus pulled the prodigal son back into the Bok fold.

While Jones and Nienaber were away, Erasmus recruited former Ireland hooker and Munster assistant coach Jerry Flannery, former All Black flyhalf Tony Brown, and promoted Duane Vermeulen from the playing ranks to “roving coach.” The three have proved to be excellent acquisitions.

When Jones returned, it was suggested that Erasmus could face a situation where too many cooks might spoil the broth.

Erasmus explained that while each assistant has a portfolio — Brown focuses on attack, Flannery on defence — no coach is precious about his department. Jones would roam between various coaches, adding advice. Nienaber would likely do something similar, concentrating on analysing players, both for South Africa and the opposition.

After all, Erasmus said last week, “a brain like his will always be in demand.” He added that the Boks won’t be the only ones offering Nienaber a World Cup role. “I would think the Irish might want to use him, and England, too, but yes, we will have a look at it.”

You would think the emotional pull of the Springboks, and the chance at a historic three-peat, would win the day. The return of Nienaber would be the cherry on top for Erasmus’s coaching Dream Team and would further strengthen the odds of the Boks securing the Webb Ellis Cup for another four years.