News24 | Feeling ‘bles’: Rassie and Co’s bald Bok move after Greatest Rivalry triumph

BALDI-MORE: Springbok mentor Rassie Erasmus, left, and his coaching staff are sporting a bald new look after winning the fourth Greatest Rivalry Test against the All Blacks in Baltimore at the weekend.

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In a post that might just be more remarkable for seeing Bok scrum coach Daan Human without his bucket hat for a change, the Springbok coaching staff is sporting a bald new look after sealing a 3-1 Greatest Rivalry series victory over the All Blacks in Baltimore on Saturday.

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What appears to be the result of a bet among the South African rugby brains trust, Bok coach Rassie Erasmus took to social media to reveal bald pates en masse for himself, Human, attack coach Tony Brown, defence coach Jerry Flannery and assistant coach Felix Jones among others as they celebrated coming back from a 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park to win the next three Tests on the trot against the old foe.

Erasmus marked his 100th Test as director of rugby and head coach of the world champions since 2018 in the Baltimore finale, the fourth and final match of the series, which the Boks won 43-28.

Erasmus had said after the opening Test defeat by the All Blacks that there was “a way out”. All they had to do was win the next three matches, a feat last achieved by South Africa against the All Blacks in the Tri-Nations series of 2009 under then coach Peter de Villiers.

It’s unclear who would have bet against it – many might have – but that’s exactly what the current Springboks did in 2026.

The Boks responded with a 33-26 win in Cape Town, then a 29-24 win at a heaving FNB Stadium, before taking rugby’s great rivalry to market in the United States, where they put the cherry on top of a compelling series with a 43-28 victory at the M&T Bank Stadium, home of American football team the Baltimore Ravens.

The team continues to break new ground in a golden era of Springbok rugby under Erasmus.

READ | ‘Bloody good’ Springboks earn All Blacks’ praise – and leave them staring into the abyss

Their achievements in the past eight years include a British & Irish Lions series win in 2021, a couple of Rugby Championship titles, two consecutive World Cup crowns in 2019 and 2023, and now a near unheard of series triumph – South Africa’s last series win over New Zealand came in 1976 at home – against a rugby nation that has lived rent-free in the South African psyche up until now.

The Springboks next take on Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on 27 September, before the Nations Championship resumes in November.