Shane Horgan Thinks Rassie Erasmus Leaving Munster Could Be A Good Thing

Shane Horgan thinks Rassie Erasmus’ upcoming departure at Munster may not be a bad thing.

The former Leinster, Ireland and Lions winger rates young coaches Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery very highly and believes they have what it takes to build on what Erasmus has done and kick on from there.

Horgan reckons Erasmus may have done all he can with the province, and that fresh impetus may be what they need to elevate them back to European glory.

I’m unsure as to whether Munster have progressed or not, or whether they have taken the correct learnings from the tail-end of last season, which was incredibly disappointing I thought – incredibly mundane performances and an inability to act or change things up,” he says.

Felix Jones is a kind of forward-thinking coach, very analytical, and that was the kind of thing that didn’t tally with me towards the end of last season. He’s an analytical coach that would recognise how you break down a defence. But it just didn’t tally with what I was seeing on the field at all.

So I was wondering if, in some ways, losing some of that Erasmus influence might not necessarily be a bad thing.
Jones and Jerry Flannery are both young, they’re both considered, both analytical. It strikes me as a big opportunity for them, and because the other element to that team has already been regenerated, you’ve got the opportunity to kick on.

That other element Horgan mentioned is how Erasmus has gotten Munster back to the place they need to be both physically and mentally.

“What Erasmus has done is he’s gotten them to a point emotionally and physically to a pitch that they hadn’t been and restored a belief that seemed to have dissipated in recent years. That came back. So they’re at this starting point from which they can move on.”

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[The42.ie]