Rassie Erasmus tweets 'spot on' 34-word reply to Barrett interview
Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has tweeted his verdict on what All Blacks fly-half Beauden Barrett had to say about being on the receiving end of the brutal red-carded aerial challenge in last weekend’s Rugby Championship.
The 31-year-old – who has dropped to the bench for this Saturday’s round two rematch in Johannesburg – was toppled head over heels in the air when Kurt-Lee Arendse illegally crashed into him in the 75th minute of the round one match in Mbombela, an incident that resulted in the South African being sent off and banned for four matches.
Arendse was taken away on a motorised medical cart due to the injury he sustained in the collision while Barrett, who landed on his head, thankfully managed to walk off the pitch following the six-minute stoppage for treatment.
He has since given his take on the incident in a four-minute-plus interview released by the All Blacks. “It was quite a big collision and I did think of the worst instantly, especially when I was on the ground and I can’t remember who it was told me to stay still,” explained Barrett when asked to recollect what had taken place near the end of a match the All Blacks went on to lose 26-10.
“It wasn’t until the doc came on and asked me, ‘Can you move your fingers? Your toes?’ I was relieved to have passed all those tests and basically sort of sat up and was able to walk off and get on with it. But there was a fearful period there for a minute or so where you do think of the worst.
Fair play to him he is not bitching part of the game. On to the next test good luck Boks 30 this week
— Steve Haag Sports (@STEVEHAAGSPORT) August 10, 2022
“It’s quite scary when you do go over backwards and you find yourself come down on your head and shoulders. It’s part of the game and I understand that every time we go up for the high ball we have got to be courageous. Sometimes the chasers don’t get it right. They have intentions to get up and they find themselves running into the person – which happened on the weekend.
“The players in front of me are doing their best jobs to protect me but it is not always the case. It’s something we have expected from South Africa in terms of the high ball collision and contest. I don’t think they will change anything, they will look to make it a real contest and a 50/50 but we will continue to be courageous… Yeah, relief would be an understatement.”
What Barrett had to say was replied to by Erasmus on Twitter. “Spot on! An area of the game that requires courage and technique and, as you say, injuries are part of the contest. We hope you get well soon and recover from this traumatic experience,” posted the South African director of rugby.
It was four years ago when Barrett had a similarly frightening experience when hit in the air playing for the All Blacks. “I had a similar incident where I came down on my more my shoulder against France in Wellington in 2018, very similar, the chaser got there sooner than he realised…
“It’s high speed, split-second stuff which can be quite dangerous. I was lucky on that occasion and once again lucky on the weekend. Let’s hope I still have plenty of luck in me because I have got to be courageous and so does everyone who goes up to catch a high ball.
“It is such an area of the game where South Africa uses it as a strength because they cause carnage up in the air and they like to play off of the spills and so on. It’s not something we focus on too much when we have got the ball but in terms of the style of rugby they play, the kicking game is a strength they perceive.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments