THEY SHAPED 2021 | Rassie Erasmus: Loved in SA, rugby's public enemy No 1 everywhere else

From his defence of Siya Kolisi, to his highlighting every single instance where the Boks were potentially wronged by a match official, to his relentless push-back against suggestions South African rugby was "boring", Erasmus went to war for his country in 2021, writes Lloyd Burnard.

In South African eyes, Rassie Erasmus can do no wrong, and that much was made clear in 2021. 

The rugby guru solidified his legendary status by masterminding the Springboks' stunning World Cup triumph in Japan two years ago, but there was then no opportunity to build on that momentum, with the entire international rugby calendar (for SA, anyway) wiped out in 2020 because of Covid-19.