Bok squad announced
Announcement of squad for Japan overshadowed by Etzebeth questions and Dyantyi bombshell
If the rumours around Eben Etzebeth and the alleged assault case were true‚ the lock was not going to be part of the 31-man Rugby World Cup squad announced on Monday afternoon, Springbok coach Johan “Rassie” Erasmus said.
The 27-year-old lock was accused of assaulting a man and using racial slurs over the weekend in Langebaan in the Western Cape.
Etzebeth‚ who has captained the Springboks in the past‚ denied the claims.
He was picked to be part of the squad that will be heading to Japan for the World Cup in September.
Erasmus said the news of the incident worried him‚ but he believed Etzebeth’s version of events.
“I was worried when I heard about it, of course‚” Erasmus said.
“If there was any truth in it‚ it would have been a massive issue for us.
“Having heard Eben’s side of the story‚ there’s trust between a player and coach.
“I must trust him to do some stuff on the field and win Tests and he must trust me to believe him when he tells me something.
“I’m pretty comfortable with what he’s told me and you can’t always believe what someone else says on social media.
“I’m comfortable with the fact that what was said on social media wasn’t the truth.
“If anything like that happens and it happens to be the truth‚ a person like that wouldn’t be part of our team and wouldn’t go to the World Cup.
“Until something like that gets proven‚ it’s just a rumour‚ but it would be a massive thing if it was true‚ especially at this stage.”
A big name that was missing from the World Cup squad was that of Aphiwe Dyantyi.
The Lions wing tested positive for a banned substance and will have his B sample tested this week.
Dyantyi did not take part in the Springboks’ successful Rugby Championship campaign because of a hamstring injury before the news of the failed doping test broke on Saturday.
Erasmus‚ who has been spoilt for choice in terms of back three options‚ said Dyantyi would not have made the World Cup squad because of a lack of match fitness.
“Aphiwe broke the news about his testing‚ but as far as I know in terms of protocol‚ you can only do that after the B sample,” he said.
“I only found out about the positive test 10 days ago‚ so I really didn’t know.
“The last time I spoke to you guys‚ I really thought it was an injury.
“It wasn’t something that was withheld from us‚” Erasmus said.
“He wouldn’t have made the World Cup squad anyway because of team selection protocols in terms of availability.
“You can expect a guy‚ even if he’s the world’s best player‚ to get into a squad without match fitness. That’s why we pushed hard for Siya Kolisi to play.
“You can’t just rock up at the World Cup without any game time.
“Aphiwe wasn’t going to make the squad because he hasn’t played much rugby recently.”
The Springboks will be leaving for Japan on Friday and will be playing their first pool game against New Zealand in Yokohama on September 21. –