Rassie Erasmus: Eben Etzebeth red card ‘didn’t look good’ despite 73-0 rout of Wales

A record-breaking 73–0 win should have been the perfect finale to the Springboks’ November tour, yet the mood soured in Cardiff when Eben Etzebeth was shown a red card — a moment head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted “didn’t look good” for the world champions.

While the world champions finished their away tour unbeaten after the commanding win, the red card shown to Etzebeth following a scuffle marred the occasion. The towering lock, with over 140 caps, put his hands in an opponent’s eye area and now looks set to receive a heavy suspension.

It was the second consecutive season that the Boks remained unbeaten in Europe, while they also finished the season with 13 victories from 15 matches for an 86.7% win record.

However, after scoring 11 tries against the Welsh, that red card — a third on the tour following ones against France and Italy — poured cold water on an otherwise brilliant game.

“I don’t know what I can say now that won’t be controversial,” Erasmus said of the card.

“It didn’t look good, and I thought it was a justified red card. I’m not sure if it was provoked, but that’s definitely not the way we want to end the game.”

Despite the incident, the clinical performance by the Boks showed that they are in a class of their own. The win followed strong matches against Ireland, Italy, France, and Japan.

Erasmus was pleased with the controlled performance they delivered against a Welsh side that kept fighting.

“We are really proud of the way we played. We never underestimate Wales, no matter where they are in the world rankings or what is happening in their team. We know how the Welsh people are.

“I think Asenathi (Ntlabakanye, prop) got that last turnover late in the game, and we are glad for guys like him, Zac (Porthen), and a few guys who haven’t played for us in a while.

“The hunger of the guys who don’t always get opportunities has shown, and it was important for us to fight till the end. This was a controlled performance, because Wales doesn’t have guys who just roll over.”

The Bok head coach also had a word of encouragement for Wales, saying that eventually, somewhere, they will be back.

It was the first proper runaway victory for the Bok coach against Wales, having lost to them twice already.

“They take the shots, and tonight I thought it was one of our more clinical performances. We put our soul into the game, and we didn’t focus on their soul, because the Welsh are a very controlled team. That said, we know things can change in one game.”

The draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup pool stages takes place this coming week, and the Boks will find out their opponents on Wednesday. After ending the season as the top-ranked international side, Erasmus and his management will discover whether finishing as No 1 is truly beneficial or not.

While they have had to rely on many new players over the last couple of seasons, Erasmus said they will continue to expose younger players like Porthen, Ethan Hooker, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to rugby at the highest level.