SA Rugby statement: Rassie Erasmus Twitter account

SA Rugby have issued a statement confirming that Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus is not in control of his Twitter account.

The Twitter account retweeted a pornographic video on Friday, before then issuing several Tweets purporting to be from Erasmus himself, claiming the account had been hacked.

The fresh statement suggests that the account is still no longer in his control and that all Tweets since Friday were published by the hacker.

James O’Connor is brilliantly open about his life & career | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 36

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James O’Connor is brilliantly open about his life & career | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 36

James O’Connor joins the lads this week to walk us through his phenomenal and often misunderstood career. He talks to us about being the youngest player to line out in Super Rugby and for the Wallabies, struggling with alcohol, fame and partying, as well as playing in London, Manchester and Toulon before returning to Australia. One of the most talented players of his generation, he gives us an incredible insight into the highs and lows of his career so far and what his plans are next. Max and Ryan also cover off the Champions Challenge Cup Finals and the jubilant scenes in La Rochelle

A statement reads: “Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby, has confirmed that his Twitter account, @RassieRugby, has been hacked and that he no longer has access to or control of the account.

“The issue has been reported to Twitter and will hopefully be resolved speedily. Any content appearing under the handle should be disregarded as being posted by a malicious hacker until further notice.”

Erasmus’ most recent video – presumably posted by the hackers – had suggested that the latest hack was an attempt to smear the Springboks.

The Twitter account posted a video from the Springboks documentary Two Sides, linking the lastest Twitter incident to the leaking of the infamous 62-minute long post during the British & Irish Lions tour.

“Someone is trying really hard to drag us to the gutters!,” wrote hacked Erasmus account. “Make yourself [sic] known man!! I will be more than happy to meet you there”

The latest incident comes in the wake of the ‘Jaco Johan’ affair. Erasmus retweeted a post from an anonymous user showing some “questionable calls” by the officials against the world champions.

Erasmus was then accused of being behind the Jaco Johan account, using it as a so-called ‘burner account’ to make points about rugby officiating while not been held to account by World Rugby.

The governing body last year gave South Africa’s DoR a two-month ban for publicly criticising Australian referee Nic Berry over his performance in the first Test of the British & Irish Lions’ tour.