Rassie Erasmus discusses idea of leaving Boks to coach another country

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.

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.

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.

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 BBC, the 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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10 Nov 24

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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.

“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.”