Rassie chirps Woodward

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Rassie Erasmus has circled back to have a dig at Clive Woodward for disparaging comments made during the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa in July.

Woodward, who coached England to the 2003 Rugby World Cup title before guiding the Lions to a winless tour of New Zealand in 2005, took shots at Erasmus after the Springboks surrendered the first Test in the 2021 tour.

Erasmus: ‘Sir’ Woodward’s comments don’t bother me

“Erasmus has had his day as coach,” Woodward wrote in a column for the Daily Mail. “He did a brilliant job fashioning a Boks team in a short time good enough to win the 2019 World Cup. But that was his moment, Jacques Nienaber is now in charge … but on this tour you would never know it.

“It is clear that Erasmus has started taking over again, he is running around in a tracksuit and donning the water carrier bib even though – as Gatland observed last week – he never seems to dispense any water, nor even carry a bottle!

“It looked comical, it was comical, and I am surprised South African Rugby are allowing it to happen. Erasmus is still coaching the team in all but name, but that’s not his job. He needs to butt out.

“He has become centre stage again. All the pre-match banter is conducted between him and Gatland – and Warren is eating him for breakfast.”

At the time, Erasmus responded with, “I wouldn’t listen too much to Clive Woodward, he doesn’t really matter to me,” and the director of rugby took another bite at the cherry on Friday via his Twitter handle.

 

 

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Zelim Nel