Rassie Erasmus drops cryptic Tweet as WR disciplinary panel approaches

Springboks Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has dropped a cryptic Tweet that could be interpreted as a subtle dig at World Rugby.

Erasmus and SA Rugby are facing a World Rugby disciplinary panel over a 62-minute video rant that was spread on social media in the aftermath of the first Test against the British & Irish Lions, in which the DoR criticised referee Nic Berry and his officials.

Now Erasmus seems to have thrown a new barb at his critics and by extension World Rugby, albeit it one hidden in a child's fable. Erasmus tweeted: "This one even my youngest one is finally beginning to understand. So Lekka"

DON'T ARGUE WITH DONKEYS (Fable)

The donkey said to the tiger: - "The grass is blue".

The tiger replied: - "No, the grass is green.

The discussion heated up, and the two decided to submit him to arbitration, and for this they went before the lion, the King of the Jungle.

Already before reaching the forest clearing, where the lion was sitting on his throne, the donkey began to shout: - "His Highness, is it true that the grass is blue?".

The lion replied: - "True, the grass is blue."

The donkey hurried and continued: - "The tiger disagrees with me and contradicts and annoys me, please punish him."

The king then declared: - "The tiger will be punished with 5 years of silence."

The donkey jumped cheerfully and went on his way, content and repeating: - "The Grass Is Blue"...

Last week World Rugby confirmed that Erasmus and SA Rugby would be going before a disciplinary panel. “Match officials are the backbone of the sport, and without them there is no game. World Rugby condemns any public criticism of their selection, performance or integrity which undermines their role, the well-established and trust-based coach-officials feedback process, and more importantly, the values that are at the heart of the sport.

“Having conducted a full review of all the available information, World Rugby is concerned that individuals from both teams have commented on the selection and/or performance of match officials.

“However, the extensive and direct nature of the comments made by Rassie Erasmus within a video address, in particular, meets the threshold to be considered a breach of World Rugby Regulation 18 (Misconduct and Code of Conduct) and will now be considered by an independent disciplinary panel."

How his latest Tweet goes down is another matter, although one suspects it won't help his cause.