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Rassie Erasmus discusses idea of leaving Boks to coach another country

South Africa's director of rugby Rassie Erasmus reacts prior to the Summer Series international rugby union match between South Africa and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, south-west London, on June 22, 2024. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has admitted that he did once consider coaching another nation, but has said there is no chance that it will happen now.

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The former Springbok has been involved with the South Africa set-up for seven years now in various capacities and has cemented his status as a national hero in that time, guiding the side to back-to-back World Cups.

Given his trophy-laden tenure with the Boks, the 51-year-old has been linked with jobs overseas with rival nations, chiefly England, or, rather, various figures have seen the success he has enjoyed and yearned that he could deliver something similar on foreign shores.

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England coach Steve Borthwick on the importance of winning close matches

Steve Borthwick on what he learned from the narrow defeats to New Zealand in the summer.

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England coach Steve Borthwick on the importance of winning close matches

Steve Borthwick on what he learned from the narrow defeats to New Zealand in the summer.

But Erasmus has definitively shut down any hopes other nations might hold that he could join their ranks in the future.

Speaking to the BBCthe coach, who is preparing for his side to take on Scotland, England and Wales in November, explained that he would not know the “heartbeat” of another country.

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Erasmus is just as famous for his ability to get the very best out of his players as he is for his pioneering, and at times madcap, innovations to coaching and playing. But that will remain exclusively for the Springboks.

“No,” Erasmus said when asked if he could coach another nation. “People forget, this is my second language. Sometimes people think just by the tone of my voice or the way I speak. I don’t have a vast vocabulary or ways of saying things. I’ve got certain words that I can use that I can express something and that’s it. And sometimes it comes out wrong, sometimes it’s just F.

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“So, no. And I believe you don’t know the culture of a team, you don’t know their heartbeat, you don’t understand why they are playing, how the fans are. I did consider it once and I loved my time at Munster. It was very Bloemfontein-like, where I started, I love those people there.”

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H
Hellhound 2 hours ago
Pat Lam blasts 'archaic' process that lost the All Blacks Tony Brown

Now you are just being a woke, jealous fool. With the way things are run in NZ, no wonder he couldn't make a success there. Now that he is out shining any other New Zealanders, including their star players, now he is bitter and resentful and all sorts of hate speeches against him. That is what the fans like you do. Those in NZ who does have enough sense not to let pride cloud their vision, is all saying the same thing. NZ needs TB. Razor was made out to be a rugby coaching God by the fans, so much so that Foz was treated like the worst piece of shitte. Especially after the Twickenham disaster right before the WC. Ad then he nearly won the WC too with 14 players. As a Saffa the way he handled the media and the pressure leading up to the WC, was just extraordinary and I have gained a lot of respect for that man. Now your so called rugby coaching God managed to lose by an even bigger margin, IN NZ. All Razor does is overplay his players and he will never get the best out of those players, and let's face it, the current crop is good enough to be the best. However, they need an coach they can believe in completely. I don't think the players have bought into his coaching gig. TB was lucky to shake the dust of his boots when he left NZ, because only when he did that, did his career go from strength to strength. He got a WC medal to his name. Might get another if the Boks can keep up the good work. New exciting young talent is set to join soon after the WC as dangerous as SFM and Kolbe. Trust me, he doesn't want the AB's job. He is very happy in SA with the Boks. We score, you lose a great coach. We know quality when we see it, we don't chuck it in the bin like NZRU likes to do. Your coaching God is hanging on by a thread to keep his job🤣🤣🤣🤣

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