Erasmus clarifies thumbs-up gesture after Springbok win over Ireland

Irish fans may beg to differ, but Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he was not mocking them with his extended thumbs-up pose at the final whistle at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night.

The Boks had just beaten their nemesis side 24-13 to end a 13-year drought in the Irish capital. They had also lost four of their previous five games against Ireland, including a dramatic pool game at the 2023 World Cup.

Erasmus was understandably elated after his team had dominated the Irish from the first whistle to the last. Footage of the coach’s thumbs-up gesture from the coaching box to the stands made its way onto social media, with Irish fans accusing Erasmus of mocking them.

Erasmus steadfastly says this was not the case.

“South Africans were sitting in front of us saying, ‘Thank you,’” he insisted. “I remember the coaches’ box from when I coached Munster. It is soundproof; you can’t really get the vibe of what is going on. On the field, you get it through the referee’s mic more or less.

“The gesture was a thank you to our people, and we have respect for the way Irish people support their team because it was 19 games on the trot that they had won here.

“Once more, thank you to the South Africans at the ground for their support. The euro versus the rand is not too strong, and for our people still to come — and you could hear them — it was just a thank you.

“This is a special stadium. The crowd is special,” Erasmus continued. “They have got manners when the kicker kicks. I love the pre-match military band; I am glad they gave RG (Snyman) a bit of a welcome when he ran onto the field.”

Erasmus conducted his post-match media conference with a celebratory beer at his side.

“It’s nice. Any beer is nice after a win like this against a quality team like Ireland, who have totally dominated us since we have been in the group together (since 2018).

“If you take the last five games between us and Ireland, they are still three-two up, so we won’t get carried away with this. But yeah, the beer is a little bit sweeter, and we are just thankful that we managed to beat them here.”