Erasmus' departure could be a distraction that aids Cheetahs
If Munster’s South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus’ pending departure from the club is having a negative effect on players and fans‚ they are hiding it well.
The Cheetahs meet their old coach and his team in round two of the Guinness PRO 14 on Saturday after suffering a heavy 42-19 loss to fellow Irish club Ulster last week‚ but most of the talk has centred on Erasmus and his future.
Munster’s 34-3 opening PRO 14 win over Italian side Benetton was expected and slightly underwhelming.
The situation with Erasmus has been a distraction for the club since late last season and will continue to be for the next three months.
Most of the pre-season‚ and even pre-match talk‚ has been about Erasmus’ upcoming return to Cape Town in December when he will resume the role as SA Rugby’s high performance general manager‚ a position he held before he joined Munster in mid-2016.
Erasmus’ long-time lieutenant and defence specialist Jacques Nienaber is set to return as well‚ leaving the Irish club searching for a new head coach midway through the season.
Despite assurances that it’s business as usual‚ it must be a distraction and former Ireland and British & Irish Lions skipper Brian O’Driscoll believes it could upset the team.
"It's a strange circumstance to have a head coach leaving halfway through a season‚ I'm sure they're working on a contingency‚” O’Driscoll told the Irish Independent.
"I don't know who they have lined up‚ there's lots of speculation about potential successors.
"It's not an ideal situation to find yourself in having done four rounds of Europe and half of your PRO 14 season‚ and then a new voice comes in and they have to continue with the same style of play.
"You can't change that mid-season‚ but it's definitely not a perfect situation to find themselves in.”
For now‚ though‚ Erasmus is in charge and the Cheetahs will be up against it again this weekend.
Last week they started promisingly against Ulster but were overwhelmed.
Poor defence and discipline‚ which saw them earn two yellow cards‚ derailed their debut in the tournament.
"Teams that Rassie coaches always put in physical performances‚ as well as having exceptional defence lines‚" Cheetahs coach Rory Duncan said.
"That is one of the areas that he is passionate about‚ working very closely with Jacques Nienaber.
"Munster does play relatively direct as well‚ so we do anticipate another physical encounter."
The Cheetahs will only name their team on Friday as they wait on fullback Rosko Specman and last week’s flyhalf Clayton Blommetjies to come through fitness tests.
The Southern Kings face Connacht this weekend after suffering a humbling‚ but not entirely unexpected 57-10 loss to defending champions the Scarlets last week.
The Eastern Cape team are rebuilding for the third time in 20 months but chief operating officer Charl Crous believes they will be competitive soon.
“We want to be competitive‚ we really just want to improve and ensure that we’re competitive and have small gains‚” Crous said.
“Year two‚ three; that’s a different story. We want to be seriously competitive‚ and year three‚ we want to make the play-offs.
"So even in year two‚ if we make that play-off‚ that’ll be great‚ but year three; we seriously want to make a go of it and potentially win the competition.
“The only reason this year will be a challenge is because of the short notice.
"Next year’s going to be completely different.
"We will have done your planning way in advance.”
- TimesLIVE