Ireland's Andy Farrell has admitted he is a fan of the mind games employed by his compatriot, Rassie Erasmus.
The sides are set to face off in Pretoria tomorrow at 4 p.m. Irish time in their first test, and to nobody’s surprise, Erasmus and his players have turned up the tension with various comments made about the Irish team and fans.
For example, yesterday, a clip was released on the Springbok social media accounts, featuring Erasmus speaking. The South African admitted he had full admiration for the Irish.
“Contrary to what most people think, I can say nothing bad about the Irish. The media likes to hype it up a lot. I loved it when I was there [as head coach of Munster]. The Irish, when I got there, minded me with my rough Afrikaans accent. I learned a hell of a lot when I was there," said Erasmus.
“I’m very good friends with most of the players there. I think sometimes, I’ll say it as it is, people are a bit jealous that a country like them with only four or five million people is number 1 or 2 in the world. They only have 160 professional rugby players.”
However, in the same clip, Erasmus also added that he thought the Irish were "full of themselves."
“When they do very well, they are very proud and outspoken about it [cuts to Irish fans bragging outside the Stade de France at the Rugby World Cup].
𝘙𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴
Take your seats and get the popcorn ready! 🍿
Press play on Episode 1: Rassie on Irish fans.#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks pic.twitter.com/xyAk1bDPJW— Springboks (@Springboks) July 4, 2024
“But you guys were a bit full of yourselves. You were a bit windy, you know, and now you see... [cuts to pictures of Bundee Aki crying after the quarter-final exit at the Rugby World Cup].
“It’s not something in Irish culture that’s frowned upon. It’s passion… it’s ‘We love our team’ and ‘Listen, if you come in our way, we are going to give you some stick.’
“I wouldn’t be too hard on them; they’re proud of what they are achieving, and if they want to be competitive, they rate themselves with the teams up there.”
Farrell, who is more reserved than Erasmus when it comes to outspoken comments made to the media, was asked about his counterpart and claimed he found his antics hilarious.
“It’s hilarious! It’s brilliant,” Farrell said.
“You think it’s good? So do I. It’s hilarious, like. Why not? Why not? I don’t think anything of it. I think it’s good; it’s interesting.
“There’s a few spelling mistakes there, a few weights that were wrong, but I thought it was great.”
Saturday’s match is live on Sky Sports Arena, and live radio commentary is available on RTÉ Radio 1.
