Erasmus tweets back at Springboks legend who made Jantjies joke

Rassie Erasmus has responded on Twitter after he was tagged by a legendary Springboks back-rower in an awkward message about Elton Jantjies, the 32-year-old who was sent home from Argentina last weekend along with a staff member following media allegations about their personal lives.

A South African newspaper alleged that the married Jantjies was involved in a tryst with the nutritionist for the Springboks squad when they played the All Blacks in the opening round of this year's Rugby Championship in Mbombela.

An SA Rugby statement on Sunday read: “The Springbok management are aware of reports regarding Springbok fly-half Elton Jantjies and team dietician Zeenat Simjee between the training camp in Sabie and the Test match against New Zealand in Mbombela earlier this year.

“No team protocols were breached, but the individuals are returning to South Africa to attend to these personal reports and to eliminate any distractions to the team’s preparations for the Test against Argentina. No further comment will be made at this time.”

In the wake of the allegations, Rob Louw, a flanker who played 19 times for the Springboks in the early 1980s before switching to rugby league in England, tweeted a message that tagged Erasmus. “I don't understand the @Springboks selectors now that Elton scores he gets sent home @RassieRugby.”

Erasmus replied: “Rob, you tagged me, so I guess you want a response. I have obviously been guilty of making comments/fun of stuff like this in the past! When I see the suffering and damage to innocent children and parents involved I tend to think twice before I comment (just respect for the families).”

The South African director of rugby Erasmus was more complimentary the previous week when Louw tagged him in a separate message about the Springboks attack. “Hi Rob. Thanks for all the support and backing the Boks. All five coaches help out in all departments, we can’t even give the rain as an excuse for only scoring four tries (All Blacks showed us that). We will work hard to get better at it! Lekka.”