Rassie Erasmus frustrated with red cards for Springboks despite winning
A red card for a second straight week has prompted South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus to say he is sad for the players he has had to sacrifice, including captain Siya Kolisi
TURIN, Italy (AP) — A red card for a second straight week prompted South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus to say he was sad for the players he had to sacrifice, including captain Siya Kolisi, in order to beat Italy on Saturday.
Lock Franco Mostert was sent off in the 12th minute for a high tackle. As Italy flyhalf Paolo Garbisi was tackled low by Ethan Hooker, Mostert led with his shoulder into Garbisi's head without using his arms. The Springboks played nearly 70 minutes short a man and still won 32-14.
Another Springbok lock, Lood de Jager, was red-carded against France in Paris last weekend for a similar tackle on Thomas Ramos. The Springboks won 32-17 with 14 men. De Jager received a four-game suspension that ruled him out of the rest of South Africa’s European tour.
South Africa also beat Italy with 14 men in their previous clash in July in Gqeberha. Jasper Wiese was sent off for a headbutt in the 20th minute and South Africa won 45-0. Wiese also was suspended for four games.
“We are a very proud team in the way we level change and avoid head contact and we've received so many red cards,” Erasmus said. “We are really trying hard.”
He didn't want to comment on Mostert's actions “but losing two locks in two games now for going lower than they can go, it's tough to understand.
“We don't know how to coach guys to go lower, especially for a two-meter-tall guy (de Jager) to face someone who is on his knees (Ramos) is tough. And then to play with 13 men, and them (Italy) with 14 for a while, it was tougher than last week.”
Recommended for you
Erasmus said he was proud of his team's ability to win without a full complement but sad for players he had to strategically remove from the game.
“Yes, we have a way to adapt but it's unfair on individuals like Siya and Ben-Jason (Dixon), who received a chance (to play a test) for the first time in a long time,” Erasmus said.
Beside Dixon, Erasmus also took off Zachary Porthen, Boan Venter and Edwill van der Merwe in the first half to field more experienced players, and Solisi at the start of the second half for RG Snyman. He removed his captain in Paris last weekend at halftime.
“It's not just them suffering, the game is suffering,” Erasmus said. “That certainly makes us tighter as a team and more desperate, but it doesn't take the hurt away, even though we got through it. I'm happy with the result but I'm still sad for the players who have to take the brunt for someone who did something wrong by accident.”
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.