Rassie Erasmus responds to claims Springboks aren’t worthy of No 1 ranking

SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has responded to an article questioning the Springboks’ status as the No 1 team in the world.

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The Springboks have not played a single Test since winning the Rugby World Cup in Japan on 2 November 2019.

An article published on the Rugby Pass website suggested they had ‘ducked’ and ‘hidden’ from competition by withdrawing from the 2020 Rugby Championship.

Despite SA Rugby pulling the Springboks out of the tournament citing – among several reasons – that the team had lacked sufficient preparation, it went ahead in the form of the Tri-Nations.

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Argentina not only took part having played significantly less rugby than the Springboks in their preparation, but performing unbelievably well in beating the All Blacks for the first time in their history!

On Monday SA Rugby confirmed that the Springboks would return to action for the first time since their World Cup win against minnows Georgia in a two-Test series in early July ahead of their three Tests against the British & Irish Lions.

Rassie Erasmus, who isn’t vocal on social media but has spoken about its value, wrote: “This always made sense to me: A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.”

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TOP 10 IN THE LATEST WORLD RUGBY STANDINGS:

1. South Africa – 94.20

2. New Zealand – 88.95

3. England – 85.44

4. Ireland – 84.69

5. France – 84.27

6. Wales – 83.44

7. Australia – 83.08

8. Scotland – 82.02

9. Argentina – 80.31

10. Japan – 79.29

ALSO:

12. Georgia – 73.73

This always made sense to me: A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep.

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) May 10, 2021