The team during the South African national rugby team squad announcement at Ulwazi Centre, MultiChoice City on August 26, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images)
Rassie Erasmus has developed a refreshing attitude of honesty as Springbok coach, something illustrated again on Monday when he admitted the news of Eben Etzebeth’s alleged involvement in racial incident had him “definitely worried”.
South Africa’s build-up to its World Cup squad announcement in Randburg had been quite serene, before Etzebeth’s reported shenanigans with a group of friends in Langebaan at the weekend provided an unwanted dose of drama.
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Etzebeth denies involvement in racial incident
“If there was to be any truth to the story, it obviously would’ve been a massive issue for us,” said Erasmus shortly after the confirmation of the 31-man squad, of which Etzebeth is a member.
“But after speaking to Eben and hearing his side of the story, I’m pretty comfortable with what he’s told me.”
The 27-year-old lock had already released a statement via social media on Sunday, dismissing the allegations as completely “unfounded” and “untrue”, while SA Rugby also released correspondence expressing full support for the time being.
Erasmus noted how he has an obligation to believe Etzebeth.
“Obviously there’s trust between a coach and a player. I must trust him to do some things on the field for me and win Test matches for the team and he must trust me when he tells me something important,” said the Bok mentor.
“You can’t just believe what a person is saying on social media. I’m really comfortable. But if such an incident happened, I can assure you that individual wouldn’t be part of the team and go to the World Cup.”
ALSO READ: Springboks squad named for World Cup assault
Erasmus also reiterated that he didn’t know injured star winger Aphiwe Dyantyi tested positive for a banned substance, which threatens to place his career on hold.
“I only found out about ten days ago. The last time I spoke to the media, I truly thought he was still merely injured. I don’t think anything about that result was kept away from us. The day Aphiwe found out was most likely very close to when we found out.”
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