The RFU have stated that reports suggesting Rassie Erasmus was in talks to take over the top job with England are ‘100% inaccurate’.
On Sunday afternoon, a newly-created Rassie Erasmus Twitter account seemed to show the South African director of rugby silencing rumours that he could be exploring a move to England.
READ: It’s not happening – Rassie
It followed a major story in Rapport, where it was said that Erasmus could be in line to take over from Eddie Jones, whose contract with the Rugby Football Union expires at the end of 2021.
Erasmus was spotted at Murrayfield for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash in the Six Nations, but the understandable assumption is that he was in attendance to watch the Springboks’ winter opponents, Scotland.
A spokesperson for the RFU has since told the Press Association that they ‘strongly dismiss the story’, while RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney also issued a statement that left little doubt: ‘The reports are 100 percent inaccurate. There has been no meeting. There have been no talks whatsoever about any position at the RFU.’
As it is, it’s widely expected that Jones and the RFU will agreed to an extension as long as results do not nose-dive over the next 16 months, and Jones still has the desire to lead the national team.
SA Rugby magazine has received confirmation that Erasmus’ Twitter account is an official one.
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