SA Rugby line up Rassie ‘replacement’

Former Springbok flyhalf Louis Koen reportedly leads a list of candidates to fill Rassie Erasmus’ former position as director of rugby.

SA Rugby confirmed earlier in February that Erasmus would be stepping away from his role as director of rugby, which he has held since 2018, to focus solely on his return to the position as Springbok head coach.

Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said that the role of director of rugby had been mothballed pending a restructuring of the rugby department of SA Rugby to meet the evolving high performance and participation needs of the sport.

However, according to Sunday newspaper Rapport, SA Rugby will appoint a “head of rugby” in the high-performance department that will take many of Erasmus’ former responsibilities as director of rugby.

This includes working with and improving the assistant coaches of the other national teams and cultivating a unified “Springbok way” through all the teams.

Ex-Bok flyhalf Koen, who currently serves as the head coach of the Springbok Women, reportedly stands a good chance of being appointed, through his previous work as SA Rugby’s high-performance manager.

This story was first published on sarugbymag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.