Rassies Erasmus has ruled himself out of taking over from Peter de Villiers as Springbok coach, but it is believed that he is still a strong contender for a new post of national director of rugby.
That leaves Allister Coetzee as the favourite to become the new Bok head coach in 2012. Other potential candidates such as Heyneke Meyer, John Mitchell, Frans Ludeke and Jake White have already indicated that they won’t apply for the position.
While De Villiers has said that he would want to continue, it is unlikely that he will be retained after the Boks bombed out of the World Cup in the quarter-final against Australia.
Erasmus and Coetzee hosted a media briefing in Bellville yesterday to explain Western Province’s failure to get past the Lions in the Currie Cup semi-final. “I am definitely not available for the Springbok job,” Erasmus said.
Erasmus added he did not want to continue in his World Cup role as a technical specialist. “I wanted to be part of it because I had to leave early in 2007. It was just a three-month stint as a technical advisor. I wasn’t really a coach on the field. Maybe in four years, it would be nice to have such a stint again!”
But the Cape Times understands that Erasmus is being lined up for a new post of director of rugby at the South African Rugby Union.
“I don’t know about that and what it would entail,” Erasmus said. “We are contracted at WP, and with how we are playing now, we could be fired before then! I don’t know anything about that, so I’m definitely not in the mix there.”
Coetzee did not rule himself out of the running for the Bok coach job. “I am contracted until the end of 2012 with WP. I would really like to win silverware with Western Province,” he said. - Cape Times