'We stay in our own reality': Rassie responds to Warburton's Ireland comments
SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus says he didn’t pay too much attention to Sam Warburton’s comments about Ireland being the best team in the world.
The former Welsh captain made those comments last month after Ireland’s strong start in this season’s Six Nations championship.
It stirred emotions amongst rugby fans mainly because the Springboks are the reigning world champions and the No.1 ranked team in the world.
“South African fans will hate me for saying this, but I still think they [Ireland] are the best team in the world,” Warburton said at the time.
“I’ve just never seen a team that’s that complete.”
During the unveiling of his new coaching team in Cape Town this week, Erasmus was asked for his response and the Bok boss had a reminder for media in attendance.
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“I think you know that we don’t really listen to what other people are saying,” said Erasmus.
“We try to stay in our own reality which is the waarheid [truth].
“Sometimes we have our own reality and we are also not as honest with ourselves and think we are much better or much worse than we are.
“If other people think England is the best or Ireland is the best, it can’t make a difference with the way we prepare, the way we select our teams, the way we operate, the way we represent this country and the love we have for the Springboks.
“With things like that you hear it, but it is not something we write down in a notebook and discuss later.”
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