Munster Rugby’s fate now in the hands of Rassie Erasmus

Chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald ushered in a new era for Munster Rugby by insisting incoming director of rugby Johan “Rassie” Erasmus would not undermine existing head coach Anthony Foley.

Yet the prickly demeanour yesterday of Foley, whose third season in the job next term is assured but will see him no longer pick the team he has coached in the previous two, nor have a coaching staff of his choosing, suggested the South African’s arrival in the province this July will not be met with unconfined joy.

“I would think if you fellas would like to think he is undermined, you could think he is,” Fitzgerald said yesterday. “But from the discussions I have had with him, and they have been long, honest, and straight on the thing itself, you can get that perception. He could have that himself, but I don’t think so.”

Former Springbok captain Erasmus, whose departure as South African Rugby’s high performance general manager after four years was also announced by the SARFU yesterday, has been given carte blanche to overhaul a Munster Rugby outfit that has crashed out of the Champions Cup at the pool stage for two seasons in a row under Foley and has just two games left in the Guinness PRO12 to secure European rugby for next season.

Erasmus, 43, coached the Free State Cheetahs to a Currie Cup in 2005, became that province’s first Super Rugby franchise head coach and served the Springboks as a technical adviser during their victorious 2007 World Cup-winning campaign.

He will leave his present high performance role after Ireland’s series in South Africa at the end of June.

SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux admitted “it will be difficult to replace Rassie” after “the massive contribution he has made in establishing the Rugby Department and ensuring SA Rugby remain leaders on and off the field”.

Foley, who in March signed a one-year contract extension that will run until June 2017, also recognised his new boss’s accomplishments but, speaking before Erasmus’s arrival at Munster was officially announced, noted: “He has a different opinion, comes from a different way of doing it. He comes from a high performance unit within South Africa. He has played, worked at the highest level, so other than that, I’d say ye have more information on those sheets of paper in front of ye than I do,” referring to the Munster press release confirming the appointment.

How did he envisage working with Erasmus?

“We’ll see,” was Foley’s terse response.

In fairness, Foley was there to talk about more immediate issues, like this Friday’s must-win game in Cork against Edinburgh, one place above Munster in the sixth and final qualifying place for Champions Cup rugby next season.

Even if Foley succeeds over the last two games of the campaign, he will convert to effectively a behind-the-scenes role as head coach for 2016-17, with his current assistant Ian Costello departing for English Championship side Nottingham, technical advisor Mick O’Driscoll leaving to concentrate on business matters and the futures of backs coach Brian Walsh and scrum coach Jerry Flannery still to be resolved. Their fate, as well as Munster Rugby’s in general, is now in the hands of Rassie Erasmus.