Prior to Ireland's loss in Twickenham last Saturday, Andy Farrell's men had been subject to their fair share of plaudits from the media and managers alike, with former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton and England manager Steve Borthwick going as far as suggesting that Ireland were 'the best team in the world'.
While their capitulation in the face of England last Saturday has inevitably taken some of the far-fetched estimations back down to earth, the debate on just how good Ireland are seems to be rumbling on, with South African manager Rassie Erasmus butting in with a nod to their number one ranked status claiming South Africa prefer 'their own reality'.
Ireland had travelled to England after recording comprehensive wins over France, Italy and Wales in the Six Nations are were widely tipped to dismantle, what had up until Saturday been a frankly underwhelming England side.
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Despite England being considered unbackable heading into the game, they came out of the blocks flying on Saturday, going toe-to-toe with Ireland and eventually handing Andy Farrell his first Six Nations loss in two seasons with a last-minute Marcus Smith drop goal that secured a one-point win.
Rassie Erasmus responds to Ireland being 'best team in the world'
While Warburton and in fact Borthwick were busy building Ireland up as the 'best team in the world', the back-to-back South Africans seemed to be sitting on the other side of the world laughing at us, with one former Springbok suggesting they can't be the best until they play South Africa.
However, speaking at a press conference today, former Munster and current South African manager Rassie Erasmus responded to the claims made about Ireland over the last number of weeks, saying South Africa prefers to stay 'in their own reality'.
🗣️ "You hear it but it's not something you write down in a notebook and discuss later."
Rassie Erasmus responds to the statements made by Sam Warburton about Ireland being the "best team in the world." pic.twitter.com/67B5qaIS1R— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) March 12, 2024
We don't really listen to what other people are saying.
We try to stay in own reality, which is the waarheid (trueness), you know sometimes we can have our own reality and not also be as honest with ourselves and to be much better or much worse than we are
If other people think that Englands the best or Irelands the best it can't make a difference with the way we prepare, the way we select our team, the way we operate, the way we represent this country and the love we have for the Springbok, so things like that you hear it but it's not something we write down in a notebook and discuss later.
Whether Rassie's comments about staying in reality and the state of trueness were a cheeky nod to South Africa's current position at the top of the World Rugby rankings and their recent World Cup victory, who knows.
One thing is certain however, that all will be revealed come July when Andy Farrell and the Irish rugby team travel to South Africa to take on Rassie Erasmus's side. With the gigantic clash nearly certainly set to be a battle between the top two ranked rugby teams in the world, we won't be long finding out who wins this argument.
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