Erasmus denies Springbok links

Editor

Munster boss Rassie Erasmus has distanced himself from reports linking him to a return back to South Africa to coach the Springboks.

Media reports in South Africa on Sunday claimed Erasmus would be willing to return to coach the Springboks, or serve in his previous job as Director of Rugby, if certain conditions he had were met.

However, Erasmus moved to dismiss those claims through his laywer, Frikkie Erasmus.

Rassie Erasmus has enjoyed great success as Director of Rugby at Munster since taking over at the start of the season.

"Rassie has a contract with Munster and won't travel to South Africa for discussions while doing so well with Munster," Frikkie Erasmus said.

"Rassie is very happy in Ireland. He doesn't have to deal with interference as is the case in South Africa. He still has plenty of time left on his contract, which is is a very good one."

It makes sense that the South Africa Rugby Union is trying hard to convince Erasmus to return to the national setup after the Springboks lost eight out of 12 Tests under Allister Coetzee's coaching last year.

Coetzee's future remains uncertain, with SARU president Mark Alexander saying there was no guarantee Coetzee would stay on as coach of the Springboks.

"We're still not sure which way this will go, whether we keep Allister or not," Alexander said.

SARU would need approximately R13 million to release Coetzee and his coaching staff from the remainder of their contracts, which runs until the 2019 World Cup in Japan.