As many will recall Beeno has consistently said Rassie is a serious rugby brain. A few ignorant posters here tried to gainsay what I said and ignored all evidence provided of the genius this man is. However as one has come to expect Beeno has again been proved correct.
Th e exodus to Europe has certainly weakened our Super rugby efforts
Munster's director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, guided his team to the PRO12 Final after they claimed a deserved 23-3 semifinal win over the Ospreys at Thomond Park on Saturday.
The result is a significant one for SA Rugby's former high performance manager as he is in his first season of coaching with the Irish province.
Ireland and former Bulls and South Africa U20 representative CJ Stander started at No 8 for Munster while ex Springbok and Sharks flanker Jean Deysel and former Bok, Stormers and Lions utility back Jaco Taute were among their replacements.
In the other PRO12 semifinal, former Bulls and Springbok prop Werner Kruger came off the replacements bench to help the Welsh region to a shock 27-15 win over Leinster at the RDS Arena in Dublin.
Kruger's former Bulls teammate, ex Bok full-back, Zane Kirchner also played off the bench for Leinster.
In the Premiership, ex Stormers loose forward Don Armand started for Exeter Chiefs as they beat the defending champions, Saracens, 18-16 in their semifinal at Sandy Park.
Springbok and ex Stormers prop Vincent Koch and another former Stormers player, flanker Michael Rhodes, started for Sarries. Former Springbok and Stormers duo Schalk Burger and Schalk Brits started on the bench as loose forward and hooker cover respectively while ex WP U19 player Petrus du Plessis was also a replacement.
In the Top 14, Springbok and Stormers No 8 Duane Vermeulen, former Bok and Cheetahs flanker Juan Smith and ex Bok and Bulls representatives Juandré Kruger (lock) and Marcel van der Merwe (prop) all started for Toulon in their 26-22 semifinal play-off win over Castres at Stade Mayol.
Castres had former Lions and Sharks scrum-half Rory Kockott and ex Cheetahs centre Robert Ebersohn in their starting XV while former Sharks hooker Jody Jenneker was on the bench.
In the other play-off, former Stormers lock Gerbrandt Grobler's Racing 92 claimed a 22-13 win over Jake White's Montpellier, who had several South Africans in their squad.
In the back-line, former Bok and Sharks stalwart Francois Steyn stared at inside centre and ex Cheetahs fly-half Willie du Plessis kicked a conversion before being replaced by ex Kings and Stormers pivot Demetri Catrakilis, who slotted two penalties.
Among the forwards were: Springboks and former Sharks front row duo Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, ex Bulls locks Jacques du Plessis and Paul Willemse as well as former Bulls and Bok No 8 Pierre Spies.
In other action:
- Springbok and former Bulls fly-half Morné Steyn helped Stade Français book their spot in the Champions Cup play-off final as he contributed 11 points, via four conversions and a penalty, in their 46-21 win over Cardiff Blues in Paris.
Ex Springbok and Cheetahs representative Meyer Bosman lined up at inside centre for Stade while Bok and former Sharks stalwart Willem Alberts packed down at lock and ex Bok and Lions prop Heinke van der Merwe was in the Parisian-based outfit's front row.
- Former Stormers scrum-half Nic Groom scored a try for Northampton in their 21-15 Champions Cup play-off win over Connacht at Franklin's Gardens. Connacht also had two former Stormers in their run-on side - utility back Danie Poolman, who stsrted at outside centre, and lock Quinn Roux
