South Africa rugby chief Rassie Erasmus has spoken out on the Elton Jantjies scandal that has hit the Springboks camp this week.
Outside-half Jantjies and dietician Zeenat Simjee were sent home from Argentina after reports of an alleged affair surfaced in the South African media. Although the pair have not broken team protocols, they were told to return to South Africa to avoid distraction around the squad ahead of the weekend match against the Pumas.
Now, Erasmus has taken to Twitter to hit out at a former player making light of the situation. Erasmus told former Springbok Rob Louw he should show respect to the families involved, citing "the suffering and damage to innocent children and parents" that has been inflicted because of the controversy.
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Jantjies, 32, is married to Iva Ristic, the mother of his three children.
After Louw joked about Jantjies being sent home, Erasmus said: "Rob, you tagged me, so I guess you want a response. I have obviously been guilty of making comments/fun of stuff like this in the past! When I see the suffering & damage to innocent children & parents involved I tend to think twice before I comment (just respect for the families)."
The saga comes just months after Jantjies was detained at an airport over allegations about his behaviour on a flight that allegedly saw damage caused to a plane he was travelling on.
In a statement, a South Africa spokesperson said: “The Springbok management are aware of reports regarding Springbok fly-half Elton Jantjies and team dietician Zeenat Simjee between the training camp in Sabie and the Test match against New Zealand in Mbombela earlier this year.
“No team protocols were breached, but the individuals are returning to South Africa to attend to these personal reports and to eliminate any distractions to the team’s preparations for the Test against Argentina.
“No further comment will be made at this time.”
Jantjies has yet to speak publicly about what has happened but did take to social media, posting the quote: "I prefer to distance myself whenever I’m mad to calm my mind otherwise I become the most heartless person you’ll ever meet.”
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