Rassie Erasmus offers view on All Blacks coaching race

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has given his take on the ongoing coaching vacancy in New Zealand with the All Blacks.

The All Blacks have been without a head coach since January 15, when NZR announced publicly that former head coach Scott Robertson would depart his role immediately.

Erasmus and the Springboks are set to play the All Blacks in a four-Test “greatest rivalry” tour later this year, where the New Zealand side will also take on the South African URC sides.

Speaking to South African media in the past couple of days, the 53-year-old Springboks head coach explained his thoughts on the two leading candidates, Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie.

“Jamie Joseph is a little bit older than me, I played against him. Tony coached with him, for about nine or 10 years (especially) in Japan, if I’m right,” Erasmus said.

“I think if you go (on) aura and Dave Rennie might give me a klap (smack) if I say this, but if you take the coaches in the world and he (Joseph) walks into a room, I’m talking about him, where he’s played and what he’s done, how hard he’s always worked, all the coaches that have worked with him say he works unbelievably hard, players say they feel comfortable under him.

“So, I don’t know which one is the right one, but both will be great.”

“I think Dave Rennie coached Glasgow but also the Chiefs. Didn’t he coach the Chiefs for a long time? I can ask Tony Brown later, he knows him obviously really well as well,” the Springboks head coach explained to reporters in Cape Town.

“As a South African coaching against him, I think he might get it right at Test level but as far as I understood he had no mercy for guys (his players). Not in a bad way but driven to get them ready for Saturday.

“I think they called it Rennie’s Time, where they had contact on a Thursday prior to matches. Can you do that in the international squad? I think you can.

“But I don’t know who’s going to get it (the All Blacks job).”