In a fiery post-match address in Cape Town, Rassie Erasmus rubbished accusations by the All Blacks that the Springbok pack walks around or adopts negative scrum tactics.
His comments came after Saturday’s 33-26 win for the Boks in the second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at Cape Town Stadium, with the scrum battle having dominated build-up after New Zealand coach Dave Rennie flagged World Rugby.
“It’s the first time in history that these people are talking about us walking around. So why would we want to start walking around now?” Erasmus told journalists.
“The first six scrums in New Zealand’s half, they had every single one collapsed. And it was reset, reset, reset, reset. So why is it only on their ball that the scrums collapse every single time?
“So don’t come with that nonsense and say we’re walking around, and try and put things out in the media.
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The Bok boss pointed to an uneven focus on marginal calls.
“If I start to put things out … their last lineout was skew – I’m not going to moan my arse off about that. So if you just want to start moaning about stuff like that, then they’re under pressure.
“Because last week we didn’t moan after there was clear head contact a lot of the time. And today in the first 40 minutes there were four head contacts, and nothing was done about it, and then Lood de Jager gets the first one [yellow card].”
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Erasmus warned against selective narratives.
“So the moment we start moaning, and if you’re taking a clip of what I said at the end, it’s going to be a sensational headline. But please don’t do it. Put the whole thing where I’m answering it.
“Don’t try and convince the people through the media, because that was what happened in the last week.
“They tried to convince the people in the media, and we’re not going to take it.”
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Erasmus was adamant the world champions would not be drawn into a public back-and-forth over officiating.
“So if the referees get caught up by that, then there’s obviously a plan to get that message out. And then we don’t want to stay quiet and just say, ‘Oh, you’re right, we’re walking around’.
“We not f**king walking around. We scrum straight. So, you know, we’ve never, ever, ever been accused of walking around. So I don’t understand.”
Photo: Esa Alexander/Reuters
The post Rassie: We not f**king walking around! appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
In a fiery post-match address in Cape Town, Rassie Erasmus rubbished accusations by the All Blacks that the Springbok pack walks around or adopts negative scrum tactics.
The post Rassie: We not f**king walking around! appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
