JOHANNESBURG – Rassie Erasmus has the backing of every South African rugby supporter, and if he were to entertain any thoughts of leaving his job for a position overseas, he’d be branded a traitor of the highest order.
This much is clear from the reaction of South African rugby fans following a weekend report suggesting England were perhaps lining up Erasmus to take over from Eddie Jones after next year’s tour of the British and Irish Lions to these shores.
Erasmus responded by launching a personal Twitter account and refuted the story by saying: “It’s not happening,” while the Rugby Football Union in England said there had been no talks or an approach.
I don’t for one minute doubt that England would be interested in Erasmus and they may very well have made some enquiries - who wouldn’t?
England are not the England the RFU envisaged they’d be under Jones, and Erasmus, having turned the Springboks around in 18 months, would of course be a major target - and not only for England but just about every big rugby nation in the world.
Only a fool would think Erasmus isn’t the hottest property in rugby at the moment and with the South African Rand as weak as it is, of course there will be offers to get the World Cup winning coach signed up.
Whether that is from 2022 or 2024 is irrelevant - Erasmus is a sought-after man, whether the RFU or anyone else admit it or not.
The good news, though, is that Erasmus has pretty much made it clear he’ll be going nowhere soon, but that doesn’t mean he won’t move on in future.
Right now, however, SA rugby fans can relax, and thankfully so, because some of them were very angry on Sunday and Monday.
Erasmus will have suitors but he's staying, writes Jacques van der Westhuyzen
The reaction by the fans, I suppose, was understandable.
They’d suffered so much when Allister Coetzee was in charge of the Boks in 2016 and 2017 and were desperate to see the national team be contenders again.
The fans were pissed off at the whipping dished out by the All Blacks (and others), and within months of taking over, Erasmus gave those same fans hope - the very thing Erasmus so often speaks about when he discusses the goals and aims of being a Bok.
It is clear that to Bok fans that Erasmus is the saviour of the team and a man who now belongs to all South Africans.
He is the first Bok coach to really get the support of all South Africans. He backed Siya Kolisi as captain and he backed players other coaches questioned.
Finally, after years of chopping and changing, there is stability at Bok level and even though Jacques Nienaber is the new coach, Erasmus will remain a key man in the management team.
Not Sure I would know what to say to any other team before a W Cup Final. Not Happening !!! pic.twitter.com/eCyiMQDRkc
— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) February 9, 2020
With the World Cup trophy safely in the cabinet, the Boks now simply have no choice but to become the dominant team in the world game.
Everything is in place for them to do just that, so it is time to kick on.
The next year or two is going to be massively important for the development and progress of Erasmus’ winning class of 2019 and if he didn’t know it already, the last few days have shown that any decisions about his future will possibly be made by the fans, and not himself.
Whether he likes it or not, Erasmus seems tied to only one team right now - the Boks.
@jacq_west
The Star