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Cape Town – Rassie Erasmus will gladly stand down as Stormers coach if there is someone better than him to take over the reigns of the struggling Cape franchise.
That was the view of the beleaguered Stormers coach after his team lost 34-11 to the Hurricanes in Wellington, New Zealand, on Saturday. It was the Cape team’s fourth consecutive loss on tour. So far they have only managed to win two out of nine games in this year’s Super 14 campaign.
“My contract expires at the end of next year. If there is anyone who can do a better job than me, I will not stand in their way because I believe rugby is always greater than the individual and Western Province and Stormers rugby comes first,” Erasmus said from his hotel room on Saturday.
“I will never insist on staying in the job. The players and I have worked extremely hard but unfortunately we are just not getting the results. My whole philosophy regarding rugby is that we have to grow continuously as a team. I know this year we have perhaps regressed and I am prepared to take responsibility for this,” said Erasmus.
But the Stormers coach believes he must be measured by the players at his disposal when he took over the reigns of the Cape franchise 18 months ago.
“I cannot commentate on the players that were contracted by previous Stormers coaches. I can obviously only account for the current Super 14 performances. Club and amateur rugby does not fall under my jurisdiction.
“I understand that player identification is possibly a problem at the moment. After a year in the job it is very difficult for me to say that perhaps this or that player should or shouldn’t have been contracted.
According to Erasmus, Colin Cooper, has been with the Hurricanes for eight years as coach and he (Erasmus) believes a coach must at least given enough time to find his feet.
“There has never been a coach that lasted longer than two or three years in the Cape. I know it’s obviously not ideal to be 12th on the log, but there were a few close games this year that could just have well have ended in our favour. Things could easily have worked out differently. In the Cape the coach is not given an opportunity to find his feet. If the results do not come, there will always be sword hanging over the coach’s head. There has never been continuity with the position of the Stormers coach and that is why there is no long term success,” added Erasmus.
Cape Town – Rassie Erasmus will gladly stand down as Stormers coach if there is someone better than him to take over the reigns of the struggling Cape franchise.
That was the view of the beleaguered Stormers coach after his team lost 34-11 to the Hurricanes in Wellington, New Zealand, on Saturday. It was the Cape team’s fourth consecutive loss on tour. So far they have only managed to win two out of nine games in this year’s Super 14 campaign.
“My contract expires at the end of next year. If there is anyone who can do a better job than me, I will not stand in their way because I believe rugby is always greater than the individual and Western Province and Stormers rugby comes first,” Erasmus said from his hotel room on Saturday.
“I will never insist on staying in the job. The players and I have worked extremely hard but unfortunately we are just not getting the results. My whole philosophy regarding rugby is that we have to grow continuously as a team. I know this year we have perhaps regressed and I am prepared to take responsibility for this,” said Erasmus.
But the Stormers coach believes he must be measured by the players at his disposal when he took over the reigns of the Cape franchise 18 months ago.
“I cannot commentate on the players that were contracted by previous Stormers coaches. I can obviously only account for the current Super 14 performances. Club and amateur rugby does not fall under my jurisdiction.
“I understand that player identification is possibly a problem at the moment. After a year in the job it is very difficult for me to say that perhaps this or that player should or shouldn’t have been contracted.
According to Erasmus, Colin Cooper, has been with the Hurricanes for eight years as coach and he (Erasmus) believes a coach must at least given enough time to find his feet.
“There has never been a coach that lasted longer than two or three years in the Cape. I know it’s obviously not ideal to be 12th on the log, but there were a few close games this year that could just have well have ended in our favour. Things could easily have worked out differently. In the Cape the coach is not given an opportunity to find his feet. If the results do not come, there will always be sword hanging over the coach’s head. There has never been continuity with the position of the Stormers coach and that is why there is no long term success,” added Erasmus.
