Rassie Erasmus rejects Dave Rennie's Springbok scrum claims

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has rejected claims from New Zealand counterpart Dave Rennie that the Springboks are gaining an illegal advantage at scrum time, escalating the debate following the second Test in Cape Town.

Rassie Erasmus rejects Springbok scrum claims

The dispute followed South Africa’s 33-26 victory over the All Blacks, which levelled the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series at 1-1.

Rennie raised concerns after the match about the Springboks “walking around” at scrums and indicated that New Zealand would provide feedback to World Rugby on technical aspects of the set piece.

Erasmus strongly disputed the suggestion, insisting South Africa scrum straight and questioning why the issue had emerged now.

“We’ve been playing as a ?pack with these guys together and it’s the first time in history that people are talking about us walking around,” said Erasmus.

“The first six scrums ‌for New Zealand, every single one collapsed, and it was just reset, reset, reset, reset. So why is it only on ?their ball that the scrum collapses?

“Don’t ?come with that nonsense and say, ‘you’re walking around’ and trying to put that out in the media."

Dave Rennie raises concerns over scrummaging

The All Blacks coach said New Zealand had improved at scrum time compared with the opening Test but maintained there were technical areas that remained a concern.

Erasmus responded by pointing to several New Zealand put-ins where the scrum collapsed and suggested Rennie’s public comments could influence perceptions around South Africa’s scrummaging.

“Their last lineout was skew. I’m not going to moan my arse off about that. So if you just want to start moaning about stuff like that, then they’re under pressure.

“Because last week we didn’t moan after there was clear head contact a lot of the time. And today in the first 40 minutes there ‌were four head contacts, and ?nothing was done about it.”

Springboks and All Blacks head to Johannesburg

Scrummaging had been a major strength for South Africa during the opening Test in Johannesburg, although New Zealand enjoyed greater stability at the set piece during the Cape Town encounter.

The growing scrum debate now adds another dimension to the series ahead of the third Test at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on September 5.

The four-match series will conclude in the United States, with South Africa and New Zealand scheduled to meet at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on September 12.