South African director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus is not one to shy away from a bit of controversy, nor is he one to back down from a challenge.
In conjunction with his long-term friend and current Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber, Erasmus took over a Bok sound that were floundering under Allister Coetzee and turned them into World Champions.
Prior to taking over the South African roles, Erasmus and Nienaber were in charge of the Irish provincial side Munster.
Thus, the duo are incredibly familiar with both Irish Rugby and their media.
One member of the Irish media who has gained a prominent voice over the past few years is radio host Ger Gilroy.
Gilroy, who is the host of the popular radio show and podcast “Off The Ball”, took exception to a recent interview given by Erasmus, who said all of the pressure on Ireland ahead of their clash with Scotland.
Erasmus’s comments come in the wake of Ireland defeating the Boks 13 – 8 in a titanic struggle that was one of the top games in the tournament’s history.
Speaking ahead of the Ireland vs. Scotland showdown whilst his team are on a bye weekend, Erasmus said, “With full humbleness”, which already seemed to trigger Gilroy, “And there is no arrogance saying this, I would rather sit here than be Ireland knowing that we have been number one in the world all the time.
“Scotland just basically have to beat them by eight points, and they’re out of the tournament.”
In response, Gilroy makes a fair point in saying, “They just have to beat us by eight points.
“Like you could’ve beaten us by eight points if you wanted to and denied us a losing bonus point and made us very worried about what the future holds.
“But you couldn’t do it, could you, Rassie?”
Then, mimicking Erasmus, Gilroy put on a funny high pitch voice before saying, “Oh no, I have got to show the world my giant rugby brain.”
🤭 This man is so funny, how does he do that voice ? Top entertainment 🤡 https://t.co/Dc1dbYgr1x pic.twitter.com/bwyG5KNuuh
— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) October 3, 2023
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