South Africa captain Siya Kolisi had to field questions about suspended director of rugby Rassie Erasmus ahead of their clash with England on Saturday.
Kolisi is eager for a resolution to the stand-off between Erasmus and World Rugby after his boss was recently given a ban for critical tweets about match officials.
Erasmus completes his latest suspension after this weekend’s Autumn Nations Series game and the Springboks flanker admits he would like the friction addressed.
All part of the rugby family
“We are learning and hopefully something is reached where both parties are happy going forward and it gets resolved,” said Kolisi ahead of Saturday’s showdown.
“It’s good for rugby to have that kind of stuff resolved. We are all part of the rugby family and families do fight and don’t see eye to eye at times.
“The most important thing is we can all invest in rugby and resolve it together and be stronger than it was before.
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“We can all use difficult periods and adversity for good sometimes and hopefully something great comes out of this and there is a solution going forward between coaches and administrators.
“I hope something more positive comes out of it because it is not good for rugby in general.
“We don’t think the world is against us. We are not the only team that has faced these challenges, every single team has done, it’s just different.
“Our slogan is let the main thing stay the main thing and the main thing is rugby. Everything else that happens is a sideshow, no one is more important than the team.”
Both teams are keen to end the year with a win at Twickenham and Kolisi believes his side’s ‘Bomb Squad’ is catching on after England made changes to their side.
Bomb Squad employed by England
“People had a problem with the Bomb Squad and now everyone’s doing it. It’s funny how the world works,” he said.
“I just laugh. People had a lot to say when we did it and now it’s becoming fashion. It works, that’s the thing. It works.
“It will work for a team like England because they play similarly to how we play with the kicking game and everything.
“You have to work as a forward at all times, back and forth with the kicking. It’s tough on the big guys so bringing on new guys with new energy who are as good helps.
“That’s the important thing about the Bomb Squad – the bench should be as good as the guys that start.”