Rassie responds to Schalk Burger's criticism

REACTION: In typical Rassie Erasmus fashion, the SA Director of Rugby has responded to criticism from Springbok legend Schalk Burger Senior.

The legendary lock Burger, father of Springbok flank Schalk Burger Junior, took to Twitter to express his grievances after South Africa’s 12-13 defeat to Wales in Bloemfontein at the weekend.

The defeat was the first time the Springboks lost to Wales in South Africa and left loads of supporters, including Burger, distressed.

Nienaber took a massive gamble fielding a new-look squad sporting 14 changes, including six debutants, from the team that secured the 32-29 win in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld.

Following the shock defeat, Burger tweeted: “If you listen to the Coach, the Captain and the Director of Rugby of SA Rugby and you see how they perform, then you know somewhere there is either showboating or we are much weaker than we think we are – no structure, coaching or game skills sad to say – RWC only a year away.”

However not one to shy away from social media, on Tuesday, Erasmus replied with a little cheeky one-liner

“Noted Oom Schalk thanks for your opinion it counts a lot”

Noted Oom Schalk thanks for your opinion it counts a lot 👍 https://t.co/o8A05uXgly

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) July 12, 2022

But the encounter did not end there as Burger suggested that the Springboks have disrespected their Welsh opposition.

Rassie, SARU, your employer, does not recognise Springboks pre 1992, when amateurs played for the sake of ethos tradition and country during trying times, winning made us an adored team, we respected countries, teams and players, we all subscribed to building tradition not caps! https://t.co/xBGvPY6GSW

— Schalk Burger Snr not Schalk jnr (@skalabrak) July 13, 2022

This weekend Nienaber and his coaching team recalled most of the players from the first Test for the final Test in Cape Town this weekend.

The coach made 11 chanegs, with Handre Pollard, Jaden Hendrikse, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth retaining their spots.