Whatever about the Munster handling of the appointment of Johan 'Rassie' Erasmus as their new director of rugby, but there is no doubt that they have hired a man with a fantastic CV and a rugby brain.
It's always interesting to see the reaction of fans and media who know more about an appointment to gauge how big an appointment this could be for Munster. Of course, the people of South Africa were more interested in the bombshell that came down from their government, but there was still some people mourning the departure of Erasmus. The overwhelming reaction from Rasmus' homeland in South Africa is that they have lost a talented coach.
The SARU statement started the initial sense of loss to South African rugby, saying how difficult it will be to replace someone like Erasmus:
It will be difficult to replace Rassie, but we’ll make an appointment in due course. The Rugby Department is functioning extremely well with experts at all levels ensuring the department runs smoothly on a daily basis.
Hopefully this will not be the end of Rassie’s contribution to rugby in South Africa. He’s done so much, as a player, team manager and coach for various teams in South Africa, and in the last four years at SA Rugby. We’d like to wish him well for his future endeavours
The Times in South Africa had a feature on Erasmus leaving, titled "Rassie is a loss, but don't panic", written by the charismatic former coach Brendan Venter. In the article, Venter described Erasmus as a tactically sound coach who is extremely hard-working:
Losing his intellectual capital may prove a significant blow to SA rugby because, quite frankly, we don't possess sufficient senior coaches that have done time within our system.
Venter wasn't alone in his reaction, with several fans and journalists alike taking to twitter to have their say.
Difficult to see how Saru will find a head of rugby of the same caliber as Rassie Erasmus. Big loss to @Springboks #MunsterRugby
— Stephen Nell (@Stephen_Nell) April 25, 2016
Rassie Erasmus confirmed as new director of rugby at Munster. Big loss for South African rugby. Top rugby brain.
— Rugbydump.com (@Rugbydump) April 25, 2016
Rassie Erasmus is one of SA's biggest rugby asssets, big loss for sure... I really hope he becomes Boks coach after Coetzee
— VendaBoyWithChill ⏺ (@IamAfricanese) April 25, 2016
The statement by SA Rugby that #RassieErasmus "opted to" says a lot about their sense of loss and desire to retain him. #legacy
— Graeme de Bruyn (@graemedebruyn) April 25, 2016
Rassie Erasmus a big loss to SA Rugby, got lost amongst the the polarizing transformation news today.
— Carl Lewis (@Carl_LewisZA) April 25, 2016
