Eskom has confirmed that Stage 2 load shedding will be in effect for the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France on Sunday. Image: Springboks
WATCH: Rassie Erasmus says tweets not directed at officials
Rassie Erasmus says his Twitter posts are for benefit of South Africans and anyone else who has a problem with it can mute or unfollow him.
Eskom has confirmed that Stage 2 load shedding will be in effect for the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France on Sunday. Image: Springboks
Rassie Erasmus has opened up about his controversial tweets, saying it is shared solely for the benefit of South African people and anyone else who has a problem with his posts should either block, mute or unfollow him.
Erasmus has copped widespread criticism after he posted a series of tweets after the Springboks’ 19-16 loss to Ireland a fortnight ago and again after South Africa’s 30-26 defeat against France this past weekend.
Erasmus’ tweets highlighted several inconsistencies by the match officials, none more so than when referee Wayne Barnes awarded a game-changing try to France without it being checked for a potential double movement, due to a breakdown in communication between him and the TMO.
There were a few more instances in the game against France which Erasmus identified, but his insights were not well received, particularly from the rugby community in Europe and to an extend Australia and New Zealand.
ALSO READ: Nigel Owens responds to Rassie’s tweets: It’s not right!
Bold Erasmus goes all in on critics
On Tuesday afternoon during the Springboks’ team announcement media conference, Erasmus was quizzed about his tweets and its subsequent lukewarm reception.
“People form their own opinions and I understand,” said Erasmus.
“We’ve always been really close to fans. If you go and look at the tweets, it’s actually for South African fans to understand that there is something that some guys are doing really well, which we don’t understand.”
“If you go and read the tweets, people immediately attach something to the narrative they want to put out there.”
ALSO READ: Erasmus responds angrily to outcry over his Twitter posts
“I don’t tag people or say it’s the referees. I don’t say anything like that. I’m saying that these are the things that we must fix. If someone doesn’t want to see that, unfollow me, mute me, but surely there are South African supporters who would like to know where we are going and where we are getting it right and wrong.”, Erasmus explained.
“It’s not having a go at the referee. I don’t think Wayne Barnes would ever make bad decisions. He is the number-one referee in the world, the most experienced referee in the world. It’s obviously something on our side that we have to fix. If people put their own narrative to it, I can’t control that.”
Watch the full video clip of Erasmus’ bold statement here:
