Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has again shown hy slaap nie op sy pos nie after bypassing World Rugby’s disciplinary sanctions on centre Andre Esterhuizen.
Esterhuizen on Wednesday copped a four-game ban for his high tackle on Portugal centre Jose Lima in last weekend’s Test in Bloemfontein and will miss South Africa’s Rugby Championship tour of Australia.
But smart thinking by Bok boss Erasmus by not selecting Esterhuizen and releasing him to his union, the Sharks, will see the centre become available for the rest of the Rugby Championship campaign.
This, as the blockbusting midfielder will start serving out his four-week ban, downgraded from six weeks after mitigation, in the Sharks’ next Currie Cup game against the Lions this weekend and followed by games against the Pumas (August 3), Griquas (August 11) and Cheetahs (August 17) that’ll count as part of his suspension.
Esterhuizen can also cut his skorsing to three weeks if he attends a World Rugby coaching intervention programme.