South African Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus is quite possibly rugby's most entertaining international character.
Never short of a joke at a press conference or a well-timed tweet, Erasmus has become a master of distraction.
Manipulating the media to push his narrative, whether to pressure the opposition or fire up his team, Erasmus knows that anything he says will be heavily reported.
Yet even still, here we are, taking the bait once again. He has got us hook, line and sinker!
He starts the week off by insinuating his upcoming opponents, France, take dives to milk penalties. Rassie has once again put the message out there for fans, pundits and quite possibly referees ahead of Saturday.
Now once again, taking to Twitter, Rassie has doubled down on one of the Bok's main topics.
That is, of course, their unique utilisation of their bench over the past four years.
Starting with the 6 - 2 split, which by all accounts, went a long way to landing their third World Cup title in 2019. Erasmus and Bok head coach Jacques Nienaber have taken things one step further in recent weeks naming a 7 - 1 split.
Initially linking the decision to an injury ahead of the Boks pre-World Cup match against the All Blacks at Twickenham.
The experiment worked so well during the South African's record 35 - 7 victory that they once again used it at the Rugby World Cup.
Unfortunately for Erasmus, the second time around wasn't quite as successful as his team lost 13 - 8 to Ireland in their Pool B clash.
Yet, ever the optimist, Erasmus and the Boks did not appear to be deterred by this minor setback as they put it.
Now facing a seismic challenge in defeating Rugby World Cup hosts France in their upcoming quarterfinal match-up. Erasmus has one again taken to Twitter in a bit to stir up a conversation.
Let us know your thoughts on which way the Boks will go with their bench in the comments section below.
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