Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus was under-going chemo at Rugby World Cup
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus was reportedly undergoing chemotherapy during his side's triumphant campaign at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
South Africa claimed their third World Cup title after beating England in the final but according to South African newspaper Rapport, Erasmus was facing a serious health scare at the time.
The 47-year-old, who became Springbok director of rugby after the tournament, was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called microscopic polyangiitis with granulomatosis in early 2019, according to Rapport.
The disease can severely impact the lungs, kidneys, sinuses and trachea.
Although not being cancerous, Erasmus reportedly has a rare strain of the disease and it put into doubt whether he would coach at the World Cup.
According to the Rapport, Erasmus continued with the treatment until March this year and it was considered successful.
The Springboks went on to defeat the English 32-12 in the tournament's final in Yokohama, clinching their first world crown since 2007.
Erasmus has since moved into a director of rugby role with South Africa Rugby, with assistant coach Jacques Nienaber taking over the head coach role.
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So if this ain’t the best Irish team ever then who exactly is? I don’t remember any other Irish team being this good & winning a series in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Yes I may rip them often for 8 X QF RWC exits & twice not even making it to the QF, but they’re a damn good team who many think can only improve, including me!
Go to commentsNot a squeek out of Leinster for weeks about this match. So quiet. The first team have been quitely building for this encounter under Nienaber’s direction. All fresh, all highly motivated. They are expecting a season’s best performance from Northhampton. They will match that. They will be fresher and apparently they will have 80,000 out of the 83,000 shouting for them. I do expect Northhampton to turn up big time. Not to be missed. On a tangent it is evident how the loss of a few Premiership teams has in some respect helped other Premiership teams and England. More quality over less teams makes the teams better, which has a knock on effect on England. Not the only factor contributing to England’s rise but one of them.
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