As one of the trendsetters in world rugby, Rassie Erasmus’ Springbok team have come to accept that they will have to face opposition and criticism from certain sources.
It’s a version of so-called ‘tall poppy syndrome’ where a successful person or team has to contend with others trying to cut them down to size for one reason or another.
One constant critic of the Springboks has been former Scotland coach Matt Williams, who has particularly been outspoken about the ‘bomb squad’ bench strategy that sees Rassie Erasmus often select six or seven forwards as substitutes.
In his latest rant, Williams has now made a bizarre claim about the career-ending neck injury sustained by Steven Kitshoff.
By all accounts, the injury was a complete freak accident, and occurred while Kitshoff wasn’t even with the Springboks, and yet Williams had the following to say: “We know about brain injuries, what is it doing for brain injuries by bringing fresh guys off the bench? What’s it doing to the guys spines when it’s being compacted unbelievably for 80 minutes?” he stated.
“What about Kitshoff, what happened to his spine in South Africa? Do we know if that is as a result of the scrummaging they are put through?”
Rassie Erasmus was having none of it
In response to these comments, Rassie Erasmus took to social media to refute such an allegation.
Erasmus’ posted a screenshot of Williams’ quotes with the caption: “Nee wat [no, what] !! How can a 6/2 or 7/1 split contribute to Kitchie’s injury? “Do we know” No you dont.”
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Meanwhile, here is an important reminder on ticket sales for the Springbok men’s game against Argentina in the Rugby Championship at Twickenham in October.
Ticket sales
Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.co.uk and England Rugby, starting from just £55* for adults and £28* for Under-16s.
Hospitality packages are also available on www.allianzstadiumtwickenham.com
(*booking fees apply)
