Watch VideoRassie Erasmus reveals hilarious message to Hugo Broos ahead of World Cup opener

Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks are officially backing Bafana Bafana on Thursday night. Photo: Backpagepix Springbok coachRassie Erasmussays he has wished his football counterpart, Hugo Broos, everything of the best for Thursday night’s big kick-off in Mexico (9pm), but worries that his message may have been lost in translation. A smiling Erasmus said, “We are all excited about the match tonight.

“We have built a nice relationship with Hugo Broos. I tried to say, “You go, Hugo!” but I think he heard ‘Hugo Hugo’. It didn’t come out the right way, but we hope they do well.

We know the pressure they are under, and we understand that pressure only too well. “But we are excited, and we look forward to watching it as a group tonight. The boys are excited, and the World Cup fever has spilled into our camp.” The Springboks trained on Thursday morning at the Johannesburg Stadium, and the Bafana Bafana theme was embraced, with the players wearing yellow and beginning their session with a game of soccer, which showed some players to be substantially more skilled than others.

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The Springboks are just over a week away from kicking off a challenging season that will see them playing 14 matches between next week’s opener against the Barbarians in Gqeberha and their final match of the year, which will be against Ireland in Dublin on November 21. “Much has been said about our injury issues, but the truth is that it is not that serious,” he said. “Only two or three guys will not be available this year because of injury, and a lot of guys will be making their comebacks in the next few weeks.

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