South Africa’s traffic light system explained in excerpt from Rassie Erasmus’s book
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Traffic lights.
South Africa made headlines over the weekend following the latest big of trickery from Rassie Erasmus and the rest of the Springbok coaching ticket.
During their Rugby World Cup opening win over Scotland, Erasmus and his team were spotting using a light system from their coaching box to communicate messages to their players on the pitch.
The coaches were seen using the lights when the Boks got a penalty, with many suggesting they were using it the system to let the players know what option to take.
But the coaches have ultimately denied this is why they’re using the system, instead claiming it’s for injuries.
“Sometimes in certain games or if the stadium is particularly loud. Having a method that we can communicate mostly with the medical staff on the ground,” Felix Jones said this week.
“And it is something we actually used with our previous club, Munster. Whereby, and I know Jacques has already explained it, a red might be where a player needs to come off a traffic light system. It is just our feeling on whether that player is ok to keep on or if we are planning on replacing him in any case.
“So it is basically to increase communication with the medical staff, in particular in situations where it is loud.”
But one of our eagle-eyed followers has come across an excerpt from Rassie Erasmus’ book that suggests there’s a lot more to the light system than the Boks have let on this week…
So at the press conference when Jacques Nienaber said that the lights definitely weren't tactical, he definitely was lying 😏 #RWC23 #Springboks pic.twitter.com/2JWl61UMct
— Philip Andrew O'Reilly Photography (@PhilAndrewPhoto) September 12, 2023
What do you think? Are the Boks using their light system for tactics? Should they be allowed?
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