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On the streets of Cape Town they all hailed Rassie the Rascal. After spending the week firing out rogue tweets, leaking videos on the internet and torching his reputation as a cool and collected character, it was the Springbok director of rugby who had the last laugh.
It's not the first time Rassie Erasmus has pushed the boundaries in the pursuit of victory. Those who know him best claim he's a genius — a workaholic who went from driving tanks to winning the World Cup.
He has a reputation as an innovator. During his early days coaching the Cats, he took his team physio and promoted him to defence coach. That physio was Jacques Nienaber, who is now the Springboks head coach. They became a double act and last night they starred in the Saturday night primetime slot.
Rassie Erasmus (second left) will feel his comments on referees helped his side on Saturday
Erasmus filmed an hour-long monologue about the referees after the first Test last weekend
'They were like Laurel and Hardy when we were at the Cats,' said hooker Schalk Brits. 'A perfect couple. They work together extremely well and they sometimes do things a little quirky.
'When I moved to the Stormers, we played against Rassie's team. They had left a sheet with all their lineout calls in the changing room. Our coach called us in two hours early the next day to learn these calls. Come the match, guess what? They weren't even the calls being used!
'With the Cheetahs, Rassie would sit on the roof of the
