Rassie Erasmus laughs off Springbok urinating non-story

The Springboks are set to take on the Wallabies in a crucial must-win Rugby Championship in Sydney this Saturday, with the Bok team – as well as top management such as Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber – under no illusions that pressure has begun to build after back-to-back defeats.

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Yet, in what has to go down as one of the strangest pre-match articles, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article to suggest that there was a so-called “incident” after an unidentified Bok player was said to have “urinated outdoors during a training session” at a Sydney boys’ high school.

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The social media response was swift, and almost unanimously lambasted the publication for publishing such a bizarre story around such an innocuous occurrence.

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It even drew a reaction from Rassie Erasmus, who stated: “We always worry & listen to (South African) people & totally understand & accept the negative & positive advice & comments! So again (South Africa) thank you for always being there for us! We only accept (South African) pressure !!! Tom I don’t think many (South African) fans will take you serious man.”

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Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber will be desperate to oversee a victory this Saturday

Already earlier this week Bok coach Jacques Nienaber reiterated that the team is trying to focus on the internal pressure and not the noise from outside ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Wallabies. 

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“I think the pressure, for myself and the team, is the pressure we put on ourselves,” said the coach.  “I think we all feel pressure because you want to produce for your country, and you’re representing your country. The pressure is trying to get solutions for the next game. It’s not the outside pressure; it’s internal pressure.

“No coach can control the outside pressure. That will come, and it comes with the territory. If you start focusing on it, then you’re focusing on the wrong things. We focus on the things we want to get right, and that is the pressure.

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“The external pressure will always be there, and this week it will be on us. It’s on all coaches. If you lose two games, there is going to be external pressure on you. It’s a must-win for all the teams currently,” added Nienaber.

Springbok record against the Wallabies in Australia:

Played 42; Won 12; Lost 28; Drawn 2; Points for: 702, Points against: 925; Tries scored 82, Tries conceded 94; Highest score 38-12 in Brisbane (2013); Biggest win 26 points in Brisbane (2013). Win % 28,6%. 

Milestones:

1. Malcolm Marx is the top try scorer in the squad against Australia with three tries in seven Test matches.
2. Siya Kolisi has played 38 Tests as captain, making him the second most capped Springbok captain behind John Smit, who led the team in 83 Tests.

Miscellaneous:

1. The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is
2. There are 257 caps in the backline with 470 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench there are a further 264
3. The average caps per player in the backline are 36, the forwards 58, while the players on the bench average 33.

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