Rassie Erasmus will return home to South Africa from his time at Munster with memories he will cherish for the rest of his life.
Erasmus cut a visibly emotional figure in the aftermatch of his final game in charge of the side, Friday night's 49-6 thumping of the Dragons in front of the home fans at Thomond Park.
He will return to fulfil the role of national director of rugby in his native South Africa with defence coach Jacques Nienaber following him out of the Munster exit door. Fellow South African Johann van Graan, who has spent the last six years as the Springboks' forwards coach, will replace Erasmus in the Munster hotseat.
Erasmus has achieved a lot in his 18 months at the helm of Munster, winning the 2016/2017 PRO14 coach of the year award and the 45-year-old was close to tears in his final press conference, describing his time at Munster as the “best 18 months" of his life.
“I will treasure these days for the rest of my life. And the performance was wonderful to sign off with. I’ve definitely enjoyed my time here. I have learned so much from the Irish people," Erasmus told the Irish Examiner.
“I will miss the Irish people. It is very hard to leave Ireland and to leave Munster specifically. People have been good to us here. To me and my family and to Jacques Nienaber and his family.
“On behalf of him I would like to thank everyone. He doesn’t always get the opportunity to talk to the media. He certainly feels the same way."
Erasmus will now oversee South African rugby’s eight national teams and the participation and management of 20 competitions and deal with the development of players, coaches and referees.
Meanwhile, Nienaber will be SA Rugby’s high performance coach.
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