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Pretoria - The appointment of former Springbok captain and loose forward Rassie Erasmus as General Manager: High Performance Teams at SARU was made with a long term objective in mind.
"Our aim is to always produce winning teams and Rassie's main task will be to establish structures to do this," said SA Rugby Union (SARU) CEO Jurie Roux here on Sunday.
"He will be tasked to create a blueprint for South African rugby that can be implemented from junior to senior level, for our men's, women's and sevens' teams."
Roux pointed out that the appointment would also involve looking at junior structures.
"We are looking beyond the next World Cup, to the 2019 World Cup, in fact," he said.
"Some of the players now in our under-16 structures will then be 23, 24 years of age."
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, renowned for his meticulous planning and establishing the structures at the Blue Bulls and Bulls that made them the leading South African team of the new millennium, welcomed the appointment of Erasmus and emphasised that the future and South African rugby as a whole should benefit from not only Erasmus's appointment, but also the management and consultants of the Springbok team.
"Rassie's inputs to the Springboks last year were lauded by everyone I spoke to and his coaching pedigree speaks for itself, considering the vast amount of success he's had at the Cheetahs and Western Province," said Meyer.
"I'm excited to have him on board [with the Boks] and I know he will add value to rugby in South Africa, which is ultimately what his job will be."
