Springbok Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus said although he is a bit surprised by the reaction to the Springboks' 7-1 split on the bench as used against the All Blacks at Twickenham, however, he said he could not see what all the fuss was about.
"We can’t really care about how other teams are doing it and what their opinions are. We are just staying within the regulations and the laws of the game."
“So for us, it’s about what’s best for our team, what works for us and that certainly won’t be the same from one weekend to the next. We don’t really care about what other teams say about it. It’s about what’s best for South Africa and the Springboks.”
“If it was something that we did wrong, that would have been something that bothered me. We follow all the laws and protocols,” Erasmus said.
“When I was playing, we only had two reserves. Then it became 22 and then 23 with a full front row on the bench. I know the laws, protocols and regulations really well. If you coach at this level, and work with coaches at this level, you know the laws of the game."
“I guess what I am trying to say, not being arrogant, is that it wouldn’t help us taking note of all of the hoo-ha, because we didn’t do anything wrong. I am not surprised, it’s new and people like to chat about that, but I’m not really bothered.”
“We are doing our planning and team selection and spreading the load between our players. We can’t really care how other teams are doing it and what their opinions are."
“I do know that if we get the opportunity and the best players that we want to get on the field consists out of a seven-one split, then we will definitely use it again, but that will be when the situation is right and if we think the opposition will struggle to handle it.
“We are just staying within the regulations and the laws of the game.