If I were to ask you to think of the teams you have been a part of, whether on the sports field, at work, at school or wherever you spend your time, you would be able to recall the best ones, the worst ones and maybe some of the in-betweeners. It is a special experience to be in the middle of something spectacular occurring, where you can sense the group achieving more than what the individual contributors would have you expect. In those moments, there’s a sense of cohesion, camaraderie and almost telepathic alignment, where you realise: We are actually doing this!
These experiences tend to be uncommon, yet purposefully replicating them doesn’t have to be down to chance. Creating that sense of genuine camaraderie, connection and shared vision that leads to exceptional results is what this book is about. Whether you are a business leader or owner, a manager of a division or team, a sports coach, a pastor or a religious leader, a teacher, a parent or the president of a country, my aim is to unpack the foundational principles of creating healthy, overachieving groups, teams and organisations in a way that you can replicate wherever you are.
For our case study, we will focus on one of the best teams, in any sport, of the past decade: the back-to-back 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cup–winning Springboks, coached by Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber respectively. This Springbok team can teach us a lot about what it takes to become a sustainably successful high-performance team, business or organisation.
The approach followed in doing so is a synthesis of information gathered from personal interviews with key members of the team, analyses of interviews and public discussions by other squad and staff members over the last seven years, and the knowledge of what makes for healthy organisations where people can do their best work, which I have gained from working as a practitioner in the field for more than a decade. I will aim to unpack, clarify and make practical what I believe the Boks are getting right so that you can start or continue to implement these key principles where you live, work and have influence.
The people I interviewed include:
- Annelee Murray: Annelee was the Springbok public relations manager between 2000 and 2020 and worked with the team for 244 test matches, encompassing seven national coaches and 21 Springbok captains. This lady has two World Cup winners’ medals and is a force to be reckoned with. She continues to work with many of the players in their personal capacities and remains close to the team.
- Francois Louw: Francois, a former Stormers and Bath loose forward, played for the Springboks 78 times over 10 consecutive years. Nicknamed Flo, he was part of the team that won the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and is an original member of the Bomb Squad.
- Schalk Brits: A former Stormers, Lions, Saracens and Bulls hooker, Schalk revolutionised the position over a 17-year professional career. He made 15 appearances for the Boks, captaining the team for one match during the 2019 World Cup and signing off his career with a world champion gold medal.
- Steven Kitshoff: Affectionately known as the Spicy Plum, this world-class loosehead played for the Stormers, Bordeaux and Ulster between 2011 and 2024. During this time, he played for the Boks 83 times, winning two World Cups, in 2019 and 2023. His career was ended prematurely in 2024 due to a serious neck injury.
- Jacques Nienaber: Since 1997, Jacques has worked as a qualified physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach, defence coach, and head coach with various professional teams, including the Free State Cheetahs, the Cats, the Stormers, Munster, Leinster and the Springboks. Jacques was an assistant coach in 2019 and head coach in 2023, collecting two World Cup medals in the process. He is widely considered one of the best defence coaches in the world.
