Unpacking Rassie Erasmus v Jérôme Daret
OPINION: Jérôme Daret was named World Rugby Coach of the Year and if you had to Google that name, you are not alone.
Social media exploded after the ‘best coach’ in the world was announced during a glamorous ceremony in Monaco on Sunday evening.
The question on everyone’s lips was ‘Where is Rassie Erasmus’? And who is Jérôme Daret?
Sentiments on the snub of Erasmus were shared far and wide on social media. Here are some examples:
"CHAMPIONS! We officially have the best player in the world, the best team in the world, and the best, oh wait. Dr Rassie Erasmus snub.."
"The Springboks are back-to-back champions, ranked No. 1, and coached by rugby genius Dr. Johan ‘Rassie’ Erasmus, widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches, innovators, and rugby minds of all time!"
"For Rassie Erasmus not being named Coach of the Year, is quite strange, compared to what he done during this year with the Springboks, injustice to world rugby."
Could World Rugby view an Olympic gold medal more worthy than winning the Rugby Championship, three from three in the Nations Series, and ranked No. 1 in the world?
Winning the World Cup last year was not on the cards as World Rugby only focuses on 2024 for their awards.
The judges were Milton Haig (New Zealand), Mario Ledesma (Argentina), Melodie Robinson (New Zealand) and Danielle Waterman (England).
The Springboks ended the November tour unbeaten, sporting an 84 percent win record to return to the top of the world rankings.
Fans of Erasmus would point out, and rightly so, that, under his coaching, the Springboks had one of their best years ever winning 11 out of 13 games, with just two one-point losses.
While no coaches were shortlisted for the Coach of the Year award, it was widely assumed that Erasmus would be the favourite to walk away with the coveted prize.
What more could he have done to deserve recognition?
Everyone knows that Erasmus is probably viewed as the bad boy of coaches. Who could forget his viral video in 2021 in which he painstakingly took to task the match officials following the first Test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions?
It is also worth mentioning that World Rugby got rid of the separate awards for men's and women’s coaches, as well as the Team of the Year award.
Yes, Daret was recognised for his efforts in ending a 19-year wait for steering France to Olympic gold in July.
He is also the first sevens coach to receive this award.
France only finished fifth (out of 12 teams) in the 2023/24 World Rugby Sevens Series, and on home soil, they rose to the occasion to defeat Fiji in the battle for gold at the Stade de France in July.
But who is Daret and where has he coached?
He was a scrumhalf throughout his professional career with US Dax and was also selected for the French national rugby sevens team. After his playing career, he transitioned to coaching and took on roles with US Dax and later as a coach for the French rugby sevens team.
Notably, he started coaching the French Sevens side in 2017. Could it be argued that it was the presence of one of the best players in the world, Dupont, that steered France to victory at the Olympics?
There is no denying that Erasmus was the architect of the Boks' domination in the test arena this year.
Because of his efforts a Springbok was crowned Player of the Year (Pieter-Steph du Toit) while no less than seven Springboks were included in the Men’s XV Dream Team which was also announced at the event.
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They are Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende, Jessie Kriel and Cheslin Kolbe.
Snubbing Springbok coaches when it comes to awards seems to be a regular occurrence. Last year World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber was also snubbed in favour of Ireland’s Six Nations-winning coach Andy Farrell.