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Cape Town - Springbok assistant coach Franco Smith faces a tough decision regarding his coaching future.
Afrikaans newspaper Rapport indicated on Sunday that Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s new director of rugby, has given Smith the choice of moving to Cape Town and remain part of the Bok coaching staff, or staying in Bloemfontein and giving up his role with the national team.
Smith, who is the Springboks' attack and skills coach, is also employed at the Cheetahs where he fulfils the role of director of rugby.
However, it appears as though Erasmus wants Smith to live close to SA Rugby’s headquarters - which is situated in Plattekloof just outside Cape Town.
The newspaper further reported that Smith was given the option to either move his family to Cape Town permanently or make the city his temporary home.
Smith’s family is settled in Bloemfontein and should he opt for the second option then he’d spent long periods away from them.
In his new role, Erasmus oversees all of the country’s national teams and he looks likely to coach the Springboks full-time in 2018, with SA Rugby reportedly in talks to relieve Allister Coetzee of his duties as Springbok head coach.
Smith, a former flyhalf and centre who played nine Tests for the Boks between 1997 and 1999, became head coach of the Cheetahs in 2015 and joined the Bok setup at the end of 2016.
