'If I have to carry water, I will' - Rassie commits to taking women's rugby to new heights

SA Rugby director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said part of why he left his post as Springbok coach was to be hands-on around all levers of the organisation – particularly the women’s game.

On Tuesday, Erasmus, together with women’s high-performance manager Lynne Cantwell revealed a plan to get the game going, including increased visibility and targeting players from all levels of playing.

Erasmus made it clear that the deliberate actions from his department will not only benefit the national women's teams, but also coaches and younger players hoping to get into the game of rugby.

A strong base of younger players entering the game will be part of the strategy to boost the profile and acceptance of women playing the sport.

"One of the reasons I stepped away from the Springboks coaching job is because we are transforming… and I think people take transforming as white and black and vice-versa and we wanted to make sure, firstly with the Springbok men that we didn’t make the same mistakes we did in 1995 and 2007.

"That is, it isn’t just happiness for a short period, and that it is actually hope that people can see that it is something happening [over a long period] and that’s one of the reasons we stopped Springbok women’s rugby for a couple of years: because there was no grassroots rugby," Erasmus explained.

READ | 'We can’t ignore it': SA Rugby's plan to bring women’s rugby out of the shadows

With some of the new changes, including the introduction of youth centres, the hope is that it will get young girls accustomed to the game. This, added Cantwell, is part and parcel of conversations happening and schools and provincial unions.

Erasmus said:

"If I have to carry water for the women’s XV in New Zealand, then I will do that," he said,