[imagesource: Flickr / GovernmentZA]

When we won the 2019 Rugby World Cup and did so convincingly with a pummeling of the English in the final, the Springboks were the darlings of the sporting world.

The superb Chasing the Sun doccie would shed further light on the stories of the likes of Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi and also show then-coach Rassie Erasmus to be a brilliant leader and tactician.

Rassie’s pivot to Director of Rugby at SA Rugby has had its fair share of controversy, headlined by the infamous video dissecting ref Nic Berry’s performance in the first British & Irish Lions test, and he’s only recently finished serving a ban.

Here’s the thing – his antics on Twitter can be enjoyable but with the Boks losing for a second week on our European tour, the thinly-veiled whining and whinging is starting to get embarrassing.

Rassie shared a single clip from the loss to Ireland, sarcastically highlighting a dubious reffing call, but he really went all-in following our loss to France.

Under the guise of being a gracious loser, he picked out some key calls against our side:

I know guys and accept it, we really only have ourselves to blame as the French were awsome both on the field (players)and off the field (supporters)!! We just have to fix these fundamental errors like tackle technique and simple passing 👇🏿Sorry 🇿🇦 we know 💔 pic.twitter.com/hte6ggyXk9

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 12, 2022

Deon copping a lot of flack for this yellow card, to be honest I also thought the Blue 16 detached and maul over, we just have to work harder and make sure we understand the rules correctly! Very costly 🟨 ! We deserve all the criticism!! Sorry 🇿🇦 💔 pic.twitter.com/vyBTf5dUXO

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 13, 2022

This so clever by Fickou, the way he moves and presents himself on our side of the ruck has no influence on our speed of the ball from the ruck !! We can certainly learn from this !! Sorry 🇿🇦💔 pic.twitter.com/nCisruylk4

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 13, 2022

Both the 🇫🇷 and 🇿🇦 9’s under immense pressure !! We just have to get that on side right!!Sorry 🇿🇦💔 pic.twitter.com/srzoaBjm89

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 13, 2022

Guys at this level their is no chance that this was not reviewed, the chances of communications going down at that specific moment is 1/100min of broadcasting! So in our view fair try after proper review by experienced Barnsy and his team! No quarrels from our side!! https://t.co/QvoGW2DFNL

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 13, 2022

Learning!! Those long passes just have an optical illusion attached to it, we will work hard at it!! 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/T76fdJk4y1

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 13, 2022

While it’s great to have such an open channel of communication between fans and Springbok management, the rest of the world has long stopped appreciating these sorts of antics.

In fact, teams around the world now have an active dislike for our inability to raise our hands and accept defeat.

Fancy a snapshot of some reactions from this past week alone? Here’s RugbyPass:

Erasmus’ antics still smack of a man who can’t read the room. Whatever your views on a referee’s performance or the social importance of a Lions series, Erasmus’s sanction and fine – SA Rugby was forced to pay £20,000 – was deserving. This latest jab might not be as scandalous as his previous misdemeanor, but it enhances the perception that Erasmus considers himself above the law.

Wales Online called Rassie “a figure of embarrassment with his paranoid Twitter crusade”:

…the mastermind behind the Springboks’ 2019 World Cup victory has become a figure of ridicule and embarrassment. Most seem to realise it, other than some of his more loyal compatriots…

Oscar Wilde famously said sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence, but then he’d never been subjected to Erasmus sub-tweeting hours after full-time like a mardy teen who never fully grew out of using cynicism as a self-defence mechanism…

There’s something incredibly pious and holier-than-thou about saying Erasmus is damaging his own reputation, as well as that of the Springboks and rugby in general.

But it’s hard to escape the feeling that the sport would be a better place without a director of rugby tweeting like a pound shop POTUS week after week.

That’s right – Rassie’s behaviour is being compared to that of Donald Trump in some quarters:

The Donald Trump of rugby. Legitimate when SA win, stolen when they lose. I wonder if he realises the damage he does to the game when he tweets this garbage. https://t.co/DyF86saK2K

— Tim Percival (@TimPercival) November 13, 2022

Rassie Erasmus is doing irreparable harm to South African rugby and Rugby Union as a sport, as well as making himself look like a prime whinging prick, with these videos after every Springbok loss. https://t.co/EyrWI6VD3z

— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) November 13, 2022

He’s also been labelled “bitter” by multiple Irish outlets.

Planet Rugby, in its weekly “who’s not and who’s not” segment, declared Rassie ‘cold as ice’:

The Springbok director of rugby took to Twitter to scrutinise the referee for the second week running. However, coming out of his lengthy ban for the very same thing, Erasmus has adopted a more ‘subtle’ route when he posts what appears to be a heartfelt caption whilst the video blatantly highlights refereeing errors. We are all for accountability and fair decisions, but Erasmus is walking a tightrope, and World Rugby will have to address this if it continues. It’s surely time for him to grow up as it’s embarrassing now.

There’s no shortage of South Africans defending him on Twitter. Abroad, it’s a very different story:

Rassie Erasmus is like the bloke in the pub who goes on and on and on. You pretend to listen, but really you are just debating in your head what flavour crisps to buy.

— Andrew Baldock (@balders2) November 13, 2022

Rassie Erasmus is a great whinging spoilt man-child in an era of other great whinging spoilt men-children.

0 from 3 means your game plan is broken. Fix it. Stop looking outside yourselves for scapegoats.#AutumnNationsSeries

— Catherine Kavanagh (@KavanaghCk) November 13, 2022

This one hits close to home – it’s just sad watching the man who masterminded our 2019 success stoop to this level and drag our reputation down with him:

It makes me sad effectively watching the rugby community deride, mock and chastise a personal hero. And what’s worse is that it’s not without cause. Much of the criticism is absurd and indulgent – but things cannot go on like this. Just my opinion.

— A-P (@rugby_ap) November 13, 2022

Mark Keohane is never shy of landing a few blows and he also went in hard on Rassie this week:

The romance of Rassie Erasmus has quickly turned to ridicule, and his refusal to take a defeat on the chin is alienating him from his most ardent supporters and simply embarrassing South African rugby…

The obsession Erasmus has with finding fault in a referee is becoming absurd, given the myopic analysis that is being done. I can guarantee you the short clips on Twitter criticising the decision making would look vastly different when cut by a French or Irishman…

Erasmus is doing everything possible to ensure that the 2019 World Cup winners, among the most popular teams to ever win the tournament, are fast becoming the most unpopular side – and it has nothing to do with the players.

Rest assured that when the Springboks face Italy on Saturday, and possibly even when they face the Poms the following weekend, there will be plenty of neutrals cheering on our opposition.

Part of what makes a great team is winning and losing with dignity and respecting the sport you excel in.

There’s no denying that the laws of rugby, as they stand, allow far too much scope for interpretation and the standard and consistency of reffing suffers as a result.

But it’s tiring now to whine and moan after every single loss, and the rest of the rugby world is well and truly sick of it.

After speaking so powerfully about how our 2019 world champions were representing every South African en route to glory, the man at the centre of it all doesn’t seem to understand that he also represents us all on the international stage:

Guys please free to block or mute me, its really not a problem and better for our health!! Sorry if any of the tweets were offending you!! Also of you dont agree with my tweets please ignore them&dont use for click bate man, use your own tweets and stuff dont be a parasite Lekka

— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 14, 2022

As a certain former US president might say, SAD!

[sources:rugbypass&walesonline&planetrugby&keo]