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

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.

ANALYSIS | Rassie’s Invincibles? Boks underline champ status with series win from 1-0 down

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