Former Munster defence coach Jacques Nienaber is being tipped to be South Africa's next head-coach.
The 47-year-old, who started his career as a physio, was part of Rassie Erasmus' World Cup winning backroom team.
Erasmus has since departed his role as coach to return to being the Springboks director of rugby, he says Nienaber would be a "great replacement" if selected by South African rugby.
"His passion, knowledge and work ethic around defence were evident from the start. Jacques deals brilliantly with people, getting messages across clearly," he told the AFP agency.
"He is a wonderful person and, if chosen, would be a great replacement. From physiotherapist to Springbok head coach – what a story."
Nienaber, who is expected to be appointed in the next few weeks, says he maintains a strong working relationship with the current Springboks director of rugby:
"Our partnership does not end when we leave the rugby field, sometimes we have a meal and a drink together.
"We sometimes disagree over tactics, but we share the same aim of making teams consistently successful. I first met Rassie when we were army conscripts and our rugby relationship began at university where he was the team captain and I was the physio.
"Rassie is a superb tactician and a great person to work with. It helps a lot that neither he nor I suffer from ego problems."
Everyone’s in the Team Of Us.
Vodafone. The Official Sponsor of the Irish Rugby Team.
