AN impressive interview and a rising reputation in South African rugby put Johann van Graan into the frame to replace Rassie Erasmus as Munster Director of Rugby.

Springboks assistant coach van Graan is set to be unveiled as Erasmus’ replacement and will link up with Munster once South Africa’s involvement in this season’s Rugby Championships is over.

Another South African, Dave Wessels, had been hotly tipped to take the top job with the two-time European champions, but the former Western Force coach is instead taking over as the new boss of the Melbourne Rebels in Australia.

Erasmus departs Munster in December but will aid the transition to the new regime under van Graan. The outgoing boss is believed to have played a part in securing the services of a technical coach who is highly respected by the South African players and was described by former coach Heyneke Meyer as his ‘best ever appointment’.

Tom Savage, Evening Echo columnist and curator of the popular Three Red Kings website said van Graan’s name had been on the radar in recent weeks.

“He became a very strong contender for the job on the back of his interview,” he explained.

Van Graan is the only surviving member of the coaching ticket which took South Africa to the World Cup semi-finals in 2015. According to The Irish Times, who broke the news on his appointment, “Meyer attributed much of the credit to South Africa’s transition to a more ambitious brand of rugby to van Graan”.