VIDEO: Erasmus unfazed by card storm in Bok victory
DUBLIN, IRELAND: Welcome to the world of the Springboks was in essence how coach Rassie Erasmus responded to the flurry of cards that Ireland received in South Africa’s 24-13 victory at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.
Erasmus had barely walked into the post-match press conference when he was asked about the ‘chaotic’ game and if he had ever seen anything like that in previous games.
Just minutes earlier, Ireland coach Andy Farrell voiced his frustration with the officiating, saying “questions need to be asked” after James Ryan received a 20-minute red card and four other players were sent to the bin, leaving Ireland down to 12 men at one stage.
Irish media called the game ‘shambolic’, ‘chaotic’ and ‘controversial’, but Erasmus responded by reminding everyone of the tough three weeks his side had to endure on tour due to two red cards on two consecutive weekends against France and Italy.
“We’ve been part of quite a few games that were like this, where we had to grind it out with 14 men.
“In a previous game, we had a red card, the guy went off, we had a concussion called when there wasn’t a ping.
“And then this week we had to see if Franco and Lood can play. On Monday, we had a hearing with Franco, and on Wednesday, we had a hearing for Lood for the whole morning,” he explained.
“The game was very physical, and then a 20-minute red card was given, which I thought was the right call.
“We heard the referee said ‘always illegal’, which I think is a very weird word, because when does always illegal start and when does it end?
“I think there is something to clear up there. But I thought it was the right call, so the other player could come back on the field.
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“It was a totally different challenge here. I thought we were dominant for most parts of the game, but just couldn’t kill it when we were inside their 22.
“It was difficult to manage, and it was difficult sometimes to understand who was on and who was off, and who comes back and who’s got an HIA (Head Injury Assessment), and who is injured.
“But it is test match rugby at the highest level, and you have to understand and manage those kinds of situations.”
Captain Siya Kolisi said that despite the barrage of players coming off and going back on, he was kept abreast of everything by the coaching staff, which made it easy for him to make the right calls at the right time.
“We knew what was happening. At half-time, we made plans, but throughout the game, we knew exactly, and that is why we took the options that we took and got penalties.
“We understood where they had numbers short and the scrum was working, so we wanted to go with that.
“So the communication was very quick. Coach Rassie and the staff were passing messages through Duane [Vermeulen] so we were all on the same page.”
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