Rassie speaks on why he chatted to Vermeulen via microphone

Springbok Duane Vermeulen was seen chatting with coach Rassie Erasmus via a microphone in the 62nd minute of last Saturday’s Test in Cardiff when Vermeulen was handed a microphone by fitness guru Aled Walters.

The 32-year-old has cleared up the incident by confirming on Twitter that it was because he dislocated his shoulder.

That is correct as I dislocated my shoulder in the first half. https://t.co/mztL8l3dXb

— Duane Vermeulen (@duane_vermeulen) November 27, 2018

“I saw how Duane injured his shoulder and was holding it, while the doctor and physio were busy attending to other players,” coach Erasmus told Netwerk24 on Monday.

“Aled (conditioning coach) didn’t see it but he was closest to Duane, so I asked him to ask Duane if he was okay. Duane couldn’t understand why he was asking and said he wanted to quickly talk to me himself. He told me his shoulder was too sore to continue playing.”

Regardless of what was actually said, Erasmus and Vermeulen could still be in trouble with World Rugby, who is yet to comment on the matter but according to regulation 4(5h), a player is not allowed to wear a communication device during a match.