Springboks: Rassie denies using ‘illegal’ subs strategy

The Springboks are just a couple of days away from the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after clinching a thrilling victory over France last Sunday.

During the second half, it was notable that Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen and Bongi Mbonambi all left the field for HIAs at different times, and ultimately all passed the strict tests.

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THE SPRINGBOKS HAVE RESPONDED TO ANY DOUBTS

Some critics have speculated that the HIAs might have been used to rest and rotate players, but Bok boss director of rugby Rassie Erasmus was having none of it.

“No I think that would be totally wrong. No,” Erasmus stated. “We really care about our players, and rightly so. I think it was (William) Servat, the French forwards coach, who said he hoped the medical team and the HIA people are ready, because there’s going to be a lot of bumps and bruises,” he recalled.

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“You could see when Pieter Steph made a head contact, we had to do an HIA there. It was straight head-to-head, and then the same, I think Duane Vermeulen was actually called by the match-day doctor.

“Bongi got a bad knock against his head. And, yes, for us to take those players off – and you know, the chance is always there that they might not pass the HIA – luckily for us, all of them passed their HIAs.

“I don’t think there’s anything else to discuss about it.”

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