There's no whisky, sex, drugs or rock and roll, but then Rassie Erasmus isn't a Keith Richards type of rolling stone.
South African rugby's coaching high priest has just launched his book Rassie: A Maverick's Stories of Life and Rugby and he is considered and measured in the way he lays bare his life on and off the field.
The Springboks' Rugby World Cup-winning coach from 2019, who collaborated with esteemed broadcaster and writer David O'Sullivan, recounts the highs and lows of the coach's charming and at times charmed existence.
Of course Erasmus, in great detail, tells the tale of his fallout with World Rugby and subsequent bans, but also how he took the Boks from their near nadir at the end of 2017 to the top of the rugby world two years later.
It made him the darling of the country next to revered captain Siya Kolisi but it was a process that had its genesis six years earlier.
While some of this colleagues and predecessors scrummed away, or sidestepped the thorny issue of transformation, he tackled it head on.
To be fair, he was in a position to do so as SA Rugby's manager of high performance between 2012 and 2016 when he set in motion the Elite Player Development (EPD) pathway. It effectively helped track some of the country's top young talent. While his brief carried a transformation bias, he does not see the concept as one that champions black over white.
“I had to find a pathway into the system, especially for black players,” explained SA Rugby's director of rugby in a book-promoting interview.
“We identified the outliers like Makazole Mapimpi and Lukhanyo Am and [more lately] Kurt-Lee Arendse.
“People need to be aware of this. Some people misunderstand transformation as black in, white out. For us, transformation is change. If we didn't change the way with our under-15s and schoolboy and Junior Bok teams how were they going to be ready to play for the Springbok team?”
He agrees, SA Rugby often muddled their messaging about transformation .
He explained the indignity that came with a process as poorly conceived as it was executed.
“They called it quotas, transformation, targets but through it all for me, whether as captain or coach, someone was being embarrassed. That is the black player being called 'a quota' or a white player left out because 'a quota' player took his place. You experience those things as a captain when you have to do a team talk.”
On that score, the book features a chapter on how Cats coach Laurie Mains ordered a black player to feign injury so he could be replaced by a white player.
“You see the mistakes, and I can't say it is SA Rugby's fault because I was part of those mistakes,” Erasmus admitted.
He is well aware the legacy he is trying to create can be easily be erased if not nurtured. “We can't park the things that are working currently.”
Already there is some tugging at the seams. Long-time colleague, comrade and confidant Jacques Nienaber will be leaving the Springbok set-up after the World Cup. The Springbok coach, who took charge of the team for the last time on home soil at Ellis Park on Saturday, will take up a coaching role with Leinster.
The process of finding a replacement for him will come into sharper focus after the World Cup but it is hard to see a candidate other than current assistant coaches Mzwandile Stick or Deon Davids getting the job.
If you asked me two years ago, I would have been the guy least likely to write a book. I don't read a lot of books. I'm not trying to win over people. I'm just trying to tell the waarheid, the truth. The good, the controversial but also the bad things
— Rassie Erasmus
Erasmus, though, has two years left on his contract.
While the World Cup is uppermost in his mind, Erasmus believes the timing of his book is crucial.
He was keen to reshape perceptions, not just about him but how success can be achieved in the local game.
He explained the timing of the book to TimesLIVE. “When you're not relevant any more it will be too late. Tell people while you're still in it. Some of the good work has to continue.
“If you asked me two years ago, I would have been the guy least likely to write a book. I don't read a lot of books.
“I'm not trying to win people over. I'm just trying to tell the waarheid, the truth. The good, the controversial but also the bad things.”
Though Erasmus shares candidly across 311 pages, the father of three does not bare all. “There's some deeply personal stuff that I did not share. To be fair, I don't think it's stuff people would be interested in anyway,” he said.
O'Sullivan admitted readers looking for “skandaal” or sensation would be disappointed.
Will there be cause for an update or another book after the World Cup? “Absolutely!” crowed the co-writer.
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