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Cape Town - Munster
hooker Niall Scannell has ended speculation and confirmed that director
of rugby Rassie Erasmus is staying at the Irish province.
Immediately after the Irish side's loss to Saracens in the Champions Cup semi-final in Dublin, the hooker revealed some positive news.
"There has been a lot speculation, but he clarified to us a few weeks ago," the hooker said after their 26-10 defeat at the Aviva Stadium.
"I'll be honest with you, at the time it was reassuring to hear because himself, Jacques (Nienaber), Felix (Jones) and Fla (Jerry Flannery), they're a top quality coaching ticket and they've done so much for us.
“Obviously Axel (Anthony Foley, Munster's late head coach) had a big hand in that, but if you just look at the turnaround we've had in nine, 10 months. I can't speak highly enough for what a good coach Rassie is."
Munster's hooker added: "It's brilliant that he's staying around. It's brilliant for our club and it's brilliant for Irish rugby. The confidence it's given us, it's something I haven't had from a coach before.
"He comes into the changing room afterwards saying: 'look, they're further along their curve and they were the better team today'. You trust him and you believe that we will evolve and we will get there and that's hugely reassuring that he's staying around."
Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that Erasmus would be tempted to return to South Africa in some capacity with the Springboks, but the Munster hooker confirmed that the Director of Rugby would remain in Ireland and that he was committed to seeing out his three-year contract with the province.
Erasmus officially joined Munster on July 1, 2016 and were he to be true to his word, would stay until June 30, 2019.
