Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok Bobby Skinstad has revealed that he and Rassie Erasmus did not have a good relationship as teammates.<\/p>\n
In fact, the former loose forward goes as far as to say that they hated one another, not to the point that they didn\u2019t speak, but there was no love lost.<\/p>\n
Erasmus<\/a>\u2018 and Skinstad\u2019s Springboks<\/a> careers overlapped in the late 90s and early 2000s, where the pair were battling it out for a place in the Green and Gold loose trio.<\/p>\n The former Bok captain admitted that he was looking after his own interests at the time, and they have buried the hatchet since ending their playing careers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got no reason to sit here and sing his praises\u201d<\/p>\n Appearing on the Good, the Bad and the Rugby<\/a> podcast, Skinstad spoke glowingly about his former teammate\u2019s transition from his playing career to coaching, which he witnessed when he was employed as a commentator with SuperSport.<\/p>\n He also hailed the success that Erasmus has had with the Springboks and how he has changed the perspective of the team in the eyes of the South African public.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has worked incredibly hard to make the national rugby team of South Africa a very important part of what generates a lot of the feel-good for most of South Africa,\u201d the 2007 Rugby World Cup winner said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be a small white base, and now the whole of South Africa just shuts down when South Africa are playing rugby, and it doesn\u2019t matter where they come from.\u201d<\/p>\n He later explained: \u201cI\u2019ve got no reason to sit here and sing his praises because we hated each other. He was playing for seven, I was playing for seven.\u201d<\/p>\n Show host Alex Payne was taken aback by Skinstad\u2019s<\/a> admission and asked: \u201cWhat was your relationship like as players?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTerrible,\u201d Skinstad replied.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t non-speak, but I mean, we competed for the same position, and I was such a prick at that level that I wasn\u2019t buying into anything except what was best for me, and he was probably doing the same.<\/p>\n Brian O\u2019Driscoll: Rassie Erasmus has a \u2018chip on his shoulder\u2019 and you don\u2019t have to like him to appreciate what he has achieved<\/a><\/p>\n