Rassie Erasmus: ‘Egos were out of the way, Munster was the most important thing’

When Rassie Erasmus arrived in Munster in the summer of 2016 to assume the role of Director of Rugby at the famous province, he was in many ways entering the unknown.

Famous in his native South Africa both as an outstanding player and coach, he didn’t enjoy the same level of recognition on these shores. Recognising there was ground to be made up, he happily joined a meeting of the team’s key background personalities.

“Myself, Jacques (assistant Nienaber), Axel (head coach Anthony Foley), Felix (Jones), Jerry (Flannery), George (Murray, Performance Analyst), Garrett (Fitzgerald CEO) and Niall (O’Donovan (team manager) all came together,” he recalled yesterday.