Rassie Erasmus addresses Springboks ‘mind games’ after France spying fears and cheeky social media post
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and France boss Fabien Galthie.
Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus insists that he is not using “mind games” after discussing France’s spying concerns and his own use of social media ahead of this weekend’s huge clash.
It was reported that the media was denied the usual access to French training last week, with it done behind closed doors over fears that South Africa would be gleaning information.
Erasmus also took to social media to ‘reveal’ Les Bleus’ side for the clash, although it had been leaked to the French press prior to that.
He listed the team alongside the caption: “Might have a few wrong, but whoever France pick in the 23 it will be a Massive Team and Clash!!”
Many took that post from the Boks boss as another example of him attempting to ruffle a few feathers, but the 53-year-old claims that is not the case.
Erasmus’ explanation
“People see everything we do as mind games, but what I’m trying to do when I put a team out there, and I just put our team weights and our caps out of there, that’s for communicating with our South African supporters and for them to get a little bit more depth and insight into what our team look like and how it compares to their team,” he said.
“I think that the South African supporters are really into it and understand it, and the more you give them, the more they understand.
“So what they do in their camp really doesn’t have an influence on what we do in our camp. We play for South Africa, for the Springboks, and we are playing away from home, and it will be a lonely place on that field, but we know there are millions of people in South Africa.
“What they do has no influence on how we prepare and how we do things.”
France fearful of spying Springboks as Fabien Galthie takes drastic steps to avoid leaks
Erasmus has previously found himself in hot water for his online activities. That includes an hour-long video criticising referee Nic Berry following the first British and Irish Lions Test in 2021 that earned him a lengthy suspension.
The Boks boss was also banned for posting videos of incidents during the 2022 November Tests, which appeared to slate the officiating.
Recent example of Rassie’s social media use
Since then, Erasmus has toned it down but he still takes to X, formerly Twitter, and recently posted a cryptic message after Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ controversial eight-week ban.
On that day, he also debated with supporters the merits of number eight Evan Roos’ omission from the Springboks set-up.
Ultimately, there is no doubt that the South Africa head coach tries to get an edge any way he can, but he is not the only one.
His direct opponent, France boss Fabien Galthie, will be trying to do the same and as Erasmus revealed, they have a good understanding of how each other works.
“I know Fabien, I played against him… I’ve known him for years,” the two-time Rugby World Cup winner said.
“Ironically, he came to Munster and shadowed us for the whole week, where he sat in every single meeting, training, planning, team and coaching sessions where we learned from each other. And after that, he became the French head coach.
