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South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus (file pic). Adam Davy

South Africa's Erasmus defuses 'bomb squad' row

The coach insisted he would never tolerate racism within his squad.

SOUTH AFRICA COACH Rassie Erasmus insisted he would never tolerate racism within his squad after a clip on social media appeared to show black Springbok Makazole Mapimpi frozen out by white team-mates.

Erasmus said those who rushed to condemn his side on Twitter had misunderstood a “standing joke” within the squad that saw the starting XV and matchday replacements split into different groups.

The clip was posted after the Springboks’ 49-3 World Cup thrashing of Italy in Shizuoka on Friday, with Mapimpi, who started against the Azzurri, walking away from a group of white replacement players.

But Mapimpi himself insisted he was doing so because he was not a member of “the bomb squad”, the name given to South Africa’s matchday replacements at this tournament, with the wing saying: “There is nothing wrong. We are one.”

Erasmus addressed the issue Sunday after naming his side to play Canada in South Africa’s final Pool B match, saying he was bothered by some people’s “negative” interpretation of the clip.

Everybody who has been part of a touring side or a Springbok side knows that in a squad of 31, there are guys who make the (matchday) 23 and the eight guys outside the 23 are called the ‘dirt-trackers’,” Erasmus explained.

“Then you get the starting XV and then you get the reserves.

He said the reserves had been dubbed “the bomb squad” because they either have to fix things on the pitch or “it’s a false alarm and they are not even going onto the park.”

“It’s a kind of standing joke in the team,” said the coach.

Erasmus said it was “so sad” the clip had been misinterpreted and stressed: “I would not as a head coach allow anything like that in the team.”

Rugby union in South Africa has traditionally been a sport of the white Afrikaner community and making the game more representative has been a thorny issue in the post-apartheid era.

The Springboks have seen legal action launched against lock Eben Etzebeth over allegations of racial abuse and assault, which he denies.

Erasmus said he had a “really united” and “close-knit” squad, with players of “different languages and cultures.”

“We are really representing a country that has a lot of problems but I think this team is representing this country with a lot of pride,” said Erasmus.

Originally published at 15.48

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    Mute Phil O' Meara
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 4:48 PM

    19 is young for any player to play at Pro 12 level. Especially in the front row where not alone strength but experience and guile are so important. This chap must be a bit of a man child.

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    Mute Christiaan Theron
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 7:16 PM

    If they are good enough they are old enough

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    Mute Darragh Henry
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 6:55 PM

    ‘Conan’ the perfect name for the next Irish beast.

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    Mute Tom Reilly
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 8:42 PM

    Conan O’Donnell was treated appallingly by the Irish under 20 management.It was obvious from the 6ns that he was the best tight head available having rescued the scrum many times from the bench.The scrum was again destroyed at the junior world cup while the best tight head sat on the bench in the shape of O’Donnell.

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    Mute Ewan Euphrenza
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 9:53 PM

    I doubt Carolan of all people would be biased against Connacht. There might be other factors at play that we don’t know about like fitness or something. If there’s one thing I noticed living in Galway, it’s that Connacht fans are quite paranoid, sometimes correctly, sometimes not.

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    Mute Eoghan O'Sullivan
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 10:12 PM

    Outstanding scrummager.

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    Mute dimitar berbatov
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 4:26 PM

    surely a 19 year old prop wouldn’t be physically mature enough to play with fully grown men?

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    Mute D H
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 5:27 PM

    depends on what kind of “supplements he was on”

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    Mute Gary
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    Oct 2nd 2015, 6:55 PM

    Does DH stand for Di€k head?

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