Rassie Erasmus has sought to distance himself from allegations of using a Twitter ‘burner account’ after making an unexpected press conference appearance on Tuesday.
South Africa ’s series-opening loss to the British and Irish Lions on Saturday was further complicated by suggestions the team director was using a second profile to share his opinions.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup-winning coach follows three people on Twitter: Lions locks Maro Itoje and Alun Wyn Jones, as well as the faceless ‘Jaco Johan’, an account with only a few thousand followers.
Erasmus, 48, has retweeted and replied to clips shared by the latter critiquing aspects of the Lions play and certain referee decisions, some of which feature a style similar to those the director has used himself.
But the Springboks chief was explicit when specifying he was “not Jaco Johan” as South Africa confirmed their line-up for Saturday’s second Test against the Lions.
Coach Jacques Nienaber was due to name his selection on Tuesday’s media call, but Erasmus was also present in an attempt to clarify the ‘Jaco Johan’ controversy: “That is actually why I am at this press conference.
“No, I am not Jaco Johan, I am Rassie Erasmus.
“I actually follow Jaco Johan, he is a big supporter of us and he’s been feeding me some really good clips for a while now, some really good things that I have used in part.
“So he’s a very big supporter, a really funny guy and I quite enjoy the things that he does.
“Why I am so active on Twitter, well I retweeted two or three that I really thought were accurate and then I tweeted twice myself for simple reasons.”
That explanation may not convince some, however, after some on social media had appeared to connect the dots linking Erasmus with the mysterious Springboks supporter.
Analyst Squidge Rugby highlighted the account was created in April 2016, right around the time Erasmus and his long-time assistant, Nienaber, joined the coaching setup at Munster.
He also pointed out ‘Jaco’ could be a shortened form of ‘Jacques’, while Erasmus’ real name is Johan.
The mental warfare has been a prominent part of this tour, with Lions coach Warren Gatland making light of Erasmus acting as ‘water boy’ to deliver instructions to his players mid-match.
South Africa must win this weekend’s second Test against the Lions if they’re to have any chance of clinching the summer series.
Former England coach Sir Clive Woodward—who coached the Lions to a 3-0 series defeat against New Zealand in 2005—wrote for the Daily Mail that Erasmus should ‘butt out’ and let Nienaber coach the team.
But Erasmus didn’t take kindly to those comments, either, and replied: "I don't know if 'Sir' is so important in South Africa as in England, I'm not sure.
“You know, that is his opinion.
“I am the water carrier. Jacques is higher than me in the rank.
“We have worked together since 1990. It is working really well
“I wouldn’t listen too much to Sir Clive Woodward. He doesn’t really matter to me.”
Both teams have made three changes apiece for the second Test at Cape Town Stadium, with Conor Murray set to come in for the Lions after Gatland confirmed his team on Tuesday.
Dan Biggar ’s involvement in the XV was also criticised after the Wales fly-half suffered a head injury late in the first Test, having yet to pass the necessary return-to-play protocols.
