HEIR APPARENT? Felix Jones, former Ireland player and assistant coach, is tipped to succeed Rassie Erasmus as Springbok head coach after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, with his recent return to South Africa sparking speculation about future leadership changes.
Image: Thomas Samson / AFP
It’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Rassie Erasmus coaching the Springboks, after the 2027 Rugby World Cup, the legendary Bok coach will likely leave his post.
The fact is that the contract of Erasmus ends after the 2027 showpiece event, and after leading South Africa to two Webb Ellis Trophies in 2019 and 2023, he has already achieved everything he could as Springbok coach.
Meanwhile, Felix Jones was an assistant coach at the Springboks in 2019 and 2023. After moving to England after the World Cup, Jones left in August 2025. Finally, Jones left England and returned to South Africa last month.
Should the 37-year-old former Ireland international remain with the Springboks for some time, he could be next in line for the Springbok head coach position.
That’s at least according to fellow former Ireland international Alan Quinlan.
“Felix Jones has gone back to South Africa, and they have a great coaching ticket there. They have great players, and I think Rassie Erasmus has obviously done an incredible job,” Quinlan told Plejmo.
“He's a strategist, isn't he? So he's not going to just walk away and leave South African rugby. I think they'll certainly be lining somebody up.
“I would be surprised if they go outside of South Africa for a head coach. You never know. I think they brought some external coaches in, which is not that normal under Rassie's tenure. I don't think it's happened much before.”
As for whether Jones would actually want the job, Quinlan said that might be more difficult to say.
“Felix, would he take on that role as the head coach? Particularly so far away from home. But he's obviously gone back there and he's missed it, and we still don’t know why he left the England situation. “
In fact, Johan van Graan could be someone that could also be in line, Quinlan suggested.
“I think Johan van Graan is someone. If he has success with Bath, and consistent success, I think he'll certainly put himself in the frame. It didn’t work at Munster with a different culture, different team, different budgets, all that kind of stuff.
“He didn’t have his start at Bath, but he's put them in a position now where they're very powerful, very strong, and, I would imagine, he would be in contention to possibly go back there.
“I'd be surprised if South Africa, if Rassie said he's finishing after the 2027 World Cup, that they're not looking now, they're not lining up coaches, which would be very sensible. Obviously, you can't get people to commit to that, but just having drawn up a list of people who potentially could be in the mix to monitor them and keep in touch with them and all that kind of stuff.”
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