Rugby Union Today: Rassie Erasmus takes Springboks role
Another busy day in the rugby union game as Rassie Erasmus was appointed South Africa head coach until the end of the 2023 World Cup.
What’s on the site
With round three of Super Rugby set to begin, there are previews of Friday’s Blues v Chiefs and Reds v Brumbies encounters.
We also look ahead to the Harlequins-Bath and Kings-Dragons matches in the Premiership and PRO14 respectively.
Finally, check out this video from Afghanistan where they play rugby in the snow.
What’s in the news
Rassie Erasmus was named as the South Africa head coach on a five-year contract until the end of the 2023 World Cup. The 45-year-old will combine that role with the director of rugby position he already holds within SA Rugby.
Despite that positive news for the Springboks, one of their franchises suffered a blow with the announcement that Cheetahs’ centre Francois Venter has signed for Worcester Warriors.
In further PRO14 news, there were a spate of postponements due to the adverse weather conditions in Britain and Ireland, with the latest coming at the Scarlets.
What’s on social media
There was an unsavoury incident at the weekend as Eddie Jones was accosted and verbally abused outside Manchester Oxford Road station, which led the England head coach to say he will no longer travel via public transport.
Warning: as the tweet below explains, the video contains strong language.
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: England coach Eddie Jones being verbally abused as he arrived in Manchester on Sunday after rail journey from Edinburgh. Disgusting after he was good enough to pose for photos. Now says doesn’t feel safe on public transport. (Warning: contains offensive language) pic.twitter.com/z2RetgKZOG
— Dan Roan (@danroan) March 1, 2018
What’s on TV
The Six Nations takes its final break so the Premiership, PRO14 and Super Rugby takes centre stage. BT Sport will broadcast three matches from England’s top-tier, showing Harlequins-Bath, Exeter-Saracens and Worcester-Leicester.
On Sky Sports, they have six Super Rugby games and the Cheetahs v Connacht encounter from the PRO14. The sevens also continues with the Las Vegas leg of the series being televised throughout the weekend.