Rassie Erasmus says he is open to the idea of welcoming Jacques Nienaber back into his coaching team for the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
The Leinster senior coach, who won two World Cups alongside Erasmus with the Springboks in 2019 and 2023, has been based in Ireland for the last two years, and recently extended his contract until the end of the 2026/27 season.
At the time, that appeared to quench any possible return to the Boks before the World Cup, but he has left the door open in a recent interview with South African TV.
"I extended with a year with the club, so my contract ends at the end of the 2027 domestic season, so I'll be out of contract and the start of the international season just starts after that," Nienaber said to Supersport, ahead of this Saturday’s meeting between Ireland and South Africa.
"I’m grateful where I am, would I like to… I miss the Springboks, I really miss the group and one never knows."
Erasmus was asked if he could see a world where Nienaber (below) returns to the Springbok coaching ticket for the tournament in Australia, and the former Munster boss left the door open.
"We would never want to ruin his relationship and reputation here in Ireland, but if Jacques tells me, or Ireland allow him to consult in the year of 2027, and we have the money to afford him in that year, there's no egos in our management coaching team," Erasmus said, after naming his team to face Ireland on Saturday.
"I see a world where... I had lunch with him yesterday, we always see each other whenever there's an opportunity, when he comes to South Africa or we flew over here."
However, Erasmus believes Nienaber could be a man in demand by the time the next World Cup rolls around.
"A brain like him, I think the Irish might also use him, or the English might use him if he's got that.
"I don't know what his contracts say exactly, but yes, we will have a look at that."
Ireland have won the last three games between the sides in Dublin, with the last Springbok victory at the Aviva coming back in 2012.
Indeed, Ireland is the one country where he has never won a Test, and and he has three winless visits from his previous trips here, both for South Africa and Munster.
He did win at the old Lansdowne Road as a player in 1998, but he admits South Africa’s poor recent record in Dublin is a point of contention.
"Oh, it definitely comes up. I'm not going to lie to you and say it doesn't come up.
"I did win here as a player, but that was many years ago. So that doesn't count and it wasn't at the [new] Aviva.
"Me personally, I haven't won at the Aviva as a coach, even with Munster. We played the Scarlets in the Pro12 final and we lost here, and when we played against Saracens in the European Cup we lost here, and I think we've coached here three times and we haven't won here.
"So it's almost as if you want to fix something that can never be done.
"I want to fix this. No, it's not revenge. It's a nice competitive environment with a team that's always been the last two years in the top, one to four in the world and it’s excitement where there's something we haven't done. and let's go and try and do it. If we don't get it right, we'll get a lot of flak.
"When you dwell too much on things you tend to stand still a little bit. But it will be great for all of us to say we managed to get one in Dublin because they've certainly had our number in the last couple of games."
This will be the 14th game of 2025 for South Africa, with one more yet to come against Wales next week.
Through 13 games, they have won 11 and lost two, those defeats coming to Australia and New Zealand, although they would shake off both losses to win the Rugby Championship earlier this year.
And Erasmus believes this weekend’s Test in Dublin has the potential to define how he will look back on the year.
"If we play at our best and Ireland is just better on the day, what can you say? Ireland on the day was better.
"There were big Test matches [this year] and some that were easier, some with red cards and so on. I guess we never have played always brilliant rugby. Never. There were times when we played horrible rugby.
"So, it would be great if we go into this match and we play really, really well to our standards. But then we also know if Ireland play really well to their standards, it will still be a close game.
"So yes, we would love to win this game, we would love to say we had a great season, we beat Ireland in Dublin, which we haven't done since I've been involved.
"So, it would be great, but to say it will be a disaster is an average season, I think you're probably right. Winning 12 out of 15 games is probably not a great season. And we still have Wales to play.
"So, I think it will define us in a way, but we'll keep reality in our minds," he added.
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