Rassie Erasmus won't be coming to England's rescue

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander has confirmed Rassie Erasmus will remain in charge of the Springboks until at least after the 2023 World Cup in France.

Alexander told the Rapport newspaper that there was no question of the controversial Erasmus leaving before helping the Springboks defend the title won in Japan in 2019 despite his name is being put forward to replace Eddie Jones as England head coach.

Alexander gave the assurance that Erasmus would continue in his role as director of rugby stating: “Rassie Erasmus and I have a good relationship, he will tell me something just the way it is. He has a contract with us until after the 2023 World Cup (in France). He is an honourable man and will respect that.”

Back in the Game – RFU

Back in the Game – RFU

The Springboks dominated the South African Sports Awards with World Cup winner, Makazole Mapimpi named the Sportsman of the Year while Erasmus won Coach of the Year.

The Springboks also picked up team of the year as they prepare to defend their World Cup crown in France in 2023 with captain Siya Kolisi using the awards platform to highlight gender inequality.

Kolisi, meanwhile, accepted the award on behalf of the SA Rugby Union for Federation of the Year, before he was named the People’s Choice Sports Star Of The Year, a result of the public vote.”It’s always awkward getting an individual award when playing a team sport, but thank you to all my coaches and teammates and to all who support me,” said Kolisi.

“Now, to all the men: Let’s talk about gender equality in sport. We (men) get all the money, but the women work has hard as we do. If we don’t speak up about it nothing will change. We (men) must use our platform to speak up for women.”

Mapimpi , who has scored a remarkable 17 tries in just 23 test matches for the Springboks, said: “Thank you so much, thanks to the coaches. This is because of the coaches … thanks to everyone,”

Tatjana Schoenmaker, who won gold and silver in the 200m and 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo Games last year, won the Sportswoman of the Year award and the overall Sports Star of the Year.