Rassie Erasmus allays Munster fears with vow to stay

Rassie Erasmus is definitely staying on as Munster director of rugby having finally ended the speculation he was about to leave the province just a season into his three-year contract.

It only took one word in the affirmative to close the door on fears stoked for more than a month following reports in his native South Africa that the 44-year-old was being lined up to resume his job as high-performance general manager at the SARU.

And it came in the wake of Munster’s 26-10 Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Saracens at Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening, a point in the European calendar few including Erasmus himself, predicted the province could reach when he assumed control last summer, brought in to work with head coach Anthony Foley as the Reds’ first director of rugby.