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Rugby

Rassie Eramsus: "I would have never left Munster for another club"

In the very near future, Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus will make the switch to his hom...



Rassie Eramsus: "I would h...
Rugby

Rassie Eramsus: "I would have never left Munster for another club"

In the very near future, Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus will make the switch to his home nation of South Africa to take up a role in their national team setup.

The 44 year old has earned plaudits for his work in helping to rebuild the Munster first team after a positive season in the Guinness Pro 12 and Europe last season.

As the new Pro 14 season approaches, Erasmus spoke to Off The Ball's Oisin Langan and he began by talking about the difficulty of making the decision to depart Munster.

"It's such a simple answer but it's still emotional. I think it was tough to do, a tough decision because of course I love it in Munster. I love the club and I enjoy it here but I love South Africa and I love the Springboks," he said.

"It's definitely not something pushing me away, it's something pulling me away and being part of the Springboks, being part of that rebuilding a winning culture, it's a massive honour.

"So I took that decision and while doing that, it caused us a lot of discussion." 

Pictured today at the launch of the 2016/17 Guinness PRO14 Season (L-R) Kieran Crowley (Benetton Treviso), Rassie Erasmus (Munster), Leo Cullen (Leinster), Bernard Jackman (Newport Gwent Dragons), Wayne Pivac (Scarlets), Dave Rennie (Edinburgh), Danny Wilson (Cardiff Blues), Steve Tandy (Ospreys), Rory Duncan (Toyota Cheetahs) and Charl Crous (Southern Kings) ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

He added: "I would have never left Munster for another club. I wouldn't even have considered it."

Erasmus explained that making the decision to leave was also difficult from a family level as they had become settled in the area. 

"It's tough because my wife's here, my three children are here and they had just got into the school. They're Afrikaans speaking girls, they're just getting the hang of English and getting used to their friends and my wife has settled in, so from that side it was an unbelievably tough decision," he said.

Erasmus also explained that there have been steps taken to ensure that the Munster setup will not be affected by the upheaval and outlined how Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones' roles have developed over time within the coaching team now and into the future.

You can listen to the full interview with Erasmus below:

Rassie Eramsus: "I would have never left Munster for another club"

00:00:00 / 00:00:00
 

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