'World Cup is Ireland's bogey competition' - Rassie Erasmus mocks South Africa's next opponent

South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has taken a dig at Ireland's Rugby World Cup record ahead of their Pool B encounter at Saint-Denis on Saturday.

Both Ireland and South Africa are yet to lose a game in the competition having played in two matches and a victory this weekend could take them close to a quarter-final berth.

It will also be a battle of the top two teams in the World Rugby Rankings with Ireland having the upper hand as they won four out of the six games against South Africa.

Erasmus, who guided the Boks to a World Cup triumph in 2019 highlighted Ireland's previous World Cup performances where they never won a knock out game which he believes will add to the pressure.

“I was thinking about that when I read a few things on social media,” Rassie Erasmus told RTE Sport with a smile.

“A few of my friends said that Ireland is our bogey team, but the World Cup is Ireland’s bogey competition.

“But then, if you think about history, when we lost our pool match against New Zealand (in 2019), then we won the World Cup. It had never been done before,” Erasmus added.

“The New Zealanders lost their first pool game ever this year, and I think they’re strong contenders this year.”