South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that lock Eben Etzebeth fully deserved the late red card he received for gouging Wales flanker Alex Mann.
The incident marred an otherwise dominant performance from the world champions, who ran in 11 tries to hand Wales a record home defeat at Principality Stadium. Etzebeth was dismissed in the dying moments of the match.
South Africa’s Eben Etzebeth was sent off for gouging.
Erasmus didn’t shy away from the incident:
“There’s nothing I can say that won’t stir controversy. It didn’t look good at all. The red card was completely justified. That’s not how we wanted to finish the game, and the visuals were ugly.”
Drawing from his own experience, playing in South Africa’s record 96-13 thrashing of Wales in 1998 only to lose to them in Cardiff the following year, Erasmus offered Wales encouragement:
“I always mention ’98 and ’99 because it proves how fast things can turn. You’ve got incredible support here. Get a couple of wins together and everything can flip in a hurry.”
