Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus insists he will be continuing to hold some of the reins after the World Cup despite leaving the role to someone new.
Erasmus has been occupying a dual role with the Boks since taking over last year, leading as head coach but also holding the director of rugby role. However, once the tournament in Japan finishes he will be replaced as head coach an focus solely on the latter job.
Despite not being head coach post-World Cup he is defiant that he will not be in an office to do his job and will be hands on with team, trying to help the new coach develop the team.
“I will be involved with SA Rugby as the Director of Rugby. Depending on who will be the head coach‚ the Director of Rugby role will definitely not be an office job – sitting behind a desk, just thinking strategically. It will definitely be a hands-on job‚ working very closely with the head coach,” he said.
With his Boks side set to take on Warren Gatland’s Wales on Sunday, Erasmus is confident that he will be up against Gatland come 2021 when the coach takes the British and Irish Lions for their tour of South Africa.
“I’m seeing the future and we (Gatland and I) will definitely compete again (in 2021),” he added.
The Springboks lost out to eventual winners New Zealand in the semi-finals in the 2015 tournament, and Erasmus announced his goal was to go a step further and make it to the final when he took over.
With that aim so close to being fulfilled Erasmus is looking for his team to produce a massive performance.
“We have been working hard for 18 months to put ourselves in a position to win the World Cup and that opportunity is now just 80 minutes away. These players have worked with unbelievable energy to get Springbok rugby back into this position and I know they will leave nothing out on the field on Sunday. We can feel the excitement coming from back home in South Africa and how much success will mean to our country. We know we’re playing for South Africa; that this is bigger than an 80-minute game of rugby,” he finished.
Erasmus will hope that his original aim will be reached come the end of Sunday’s World Cup semi-final against the reigning Six Nations champions, but either way he has seriously improved the team he inherited and with him behind the scenes for the foreseeable future things look like they will only get better for the Boks.
