Rassie: 'It is not happening'

REACTION: South Africa’s Director of Rugby has vehemently denied weekend rumours that he is in talks to join the England coaching set-up.

Erasmus took to his newly created Twitter account to dismiss the rumours.

The Afrikaans weekly Rapport newspaper suggested that Erasmus had been in talks with the Rugby Football Union over the possibility of him becoming the next England coach.

Erasmus then opened a twitter account and posted a motivational video in which he dismissed the newspaper claims.

“Not sure I would know what to say to any other team before a W[orld] Cup Final,” Erasmus captioned the video on his Twitter account.

“Not Happening!!!” he said in reference to the rumours.

The RFU also denied they were in talks with Erasmus.

“The reports are 100 percent inaccurate,” RFU CEO Bill Sweeney told Rugby World.

“There has been no meeting. There have been no talks whatsoever about any position at the RFU.”

The Erasmus rumours was further fueled by the 47-year-old’s presence at Murrayfield at the weekend, as England overcame Scotland 13-6 in the Six Nations – relieving pressure on Eddie Jones in the wake of successive and comprehensive defeats by England.

The first of those was to Erasmus’ South Africa in the World Cup Final, when England was crushed 32-12 a week after overwhelming New Zealand.

Jones is contracted to remain Red Rose boss until July 2021 and while his future beyond then is uncertain, an RFU spokesman also told the PA news agency that “we strongly dismiss this story”.

Both Jones and RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney have declined to outline publicly the succession plan for when the Australian does step down, or whether he will still be in place at the next World Cup in 2023.

Not Sure I would know what to say to any other team before a W Cup Final. Not Happening !!! pic.twitter.com/eCyiMQDRkc

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) February 9, 2020