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Rassie Erasmus shuts down Tony Brown exit talk with viral meme: I'm not leaving!
The news of Scott Robertson's sacking by the New Zealand Rugby immediately got the rumour mill churning with suggestions that Brown could return home.
The Boks' attack guru twice rejected the advances of NZ Rugby, who wanted him to join the Ian Foster and Robertson coaching staffs.
However, Brown stayed loyal to Jamie Joseph and opted to serve as his assistant coach in Japan until the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup before joining Erasmus in South Africa.
Robertson's dismissal has sparked the notion that it would be the third time lucky for NZ Rugby, with Joseph viewed as the frontrunner to take the All Blacks head coaching reins.
Erasmus quashed the speculation on Saturday evening, taking to social media platform X, formerly Twitter and did so in classic Rassie fashion, using a meme from The Wolf of Wall Street film.
"Today is a great day!! Sleep Lekka," the Springboks boss' post read with Brown's face edited over Leonardo DiCaprio with the text on the image reading 'I'm not leaving'.
Erasmus doubled down with an AI-generated post of the scene from the movie.
Brown is currently contracted to SA Rugby through to the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and reports state that Erasmus is eager to extend his deal through to 2031.
The Bok boss has re-signed until that date, and it was reported that he wanted all of his assistants to remain on the books until then, too, which stalled negotiations.
When announcing Erasmus' extension, a SA Rugby statement added: "An announcement on the contract negotiations with other members of the Springbok coaching team will be made in due course."
The head coach's social media posts hint that Brown may have put pen to paper.
The attack coach may well be sticking around in South Africa for the time being, but he has made no secret of wanting to work with New Zealand in the future.
"One day, maybe I might coach the All Blacks - I don't know. I just want to be part of this coaching set-up and the Springboks over the next four years," he said in 2024.
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