Rassie Erasmus says Lood de Jager’s red card against France should have been a 20-minute sanction rather than a permanent sending-off, but insists the Springboks have learned not to let such moments derail them.
The Bok lock was shown red just before halftime in South Africa’s 32-17 win in Paris after making shoulder-to-head contact with French fullback Thomas Ramos.
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While Ramos was dipping after a tackle from Cobus Reinach, De Jager had already gone low into contact. However, referee Angus Gardner ruled that the shoulder-led collision met the threshold for a “permanent red,” leaving the Boks to play the entire second half with 14 men.
“The action is always illegal – it’s shoulder to head, a permanent red card,” Gardner explained during the in-game review with his assistants and TMO.
At the time, South Africa trailed 14–13 but stormed back with three unanswered tries in the final quarter to seal a commanding 15-point victory.
Erasmus said afterward that while he questioned the severity of the call, the Boks have learned to keep their focus.
“We’ve learned to accept decisions,” he said. “There were times when we would really think about them, and it would bother us for the next 10 or 15 minutes. But we’ve now been together since 2018, and we’ve learned that dwelling on something like that just gets you nowhere.
“Whether it was the right or wrong call, we got a red card. I think it was a red card, but I don’t know if it was a permanent red or a 20-minute red. That’s probably debatable.”
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Erasmus pointed out that the team had been through similar scenarios before such as Pieter-Steph du Toit’s red card in 2022 and Deon Fourie’s yellow in another tight Test, and said those experiences have helped shape the side’s response to adversity.
Erasmus and his assistant coaches’ tactical response again proved decisive. The Bok coaching unit made bold second-half changes – including substituting captain Siya Kolisi in his 100th Test to bring on lineout specialist Ruan Nortje – a move that paid off as the visitors dominated the closing stages to claim a statement win in Paris.
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