Rassie Erasmus fires back at World Rugby boss following ‘Bomb Squad’ comments
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Not having it.
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has fired back at World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont following comments he made about the Springboks’ infamous ‘Bomb Squad.’
Erasmus has used his replacement bench to great effect, winning back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, opting to load his bench with six, sometimes seven forwards, rather than the traditional eight.
It has resulted in the Boks being able to almost field an entire fresh pack in the second half of games but it has come with plenty of scrutiny, with the outgoing World Rugby chairman the latest to have a go.
“My view is that we allow too many substitutes,” Beaumont said.
“I don’t know if I’m looking through rose-coloured spectacles but in years gone by the game always opened up in the last 20 minutes, and games were often won in the last 20 minutes.
“The Bomb Squad are very effective at what they do, and very successful — they have won two World Cups. I will not criticise that at all, because it suits their game, but maybe they could run for a bit longer and a bit further.”
And now Erasmus has responded in typical fashion.
“Good thing games is won or lost on the field and not in the boardrooms,” he wrote on X.
💣squad 🤷🏼♂️ Good thing games is won or lost on the field and not in the boardrooms 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/BWL3gtJ8wp
— Johan Erasmus (@RassieRugby) October 15, 2024