Erasmus and Foster trade jabs ahead of Rugby World Cup quarter-finals

Foster cut a positive figure after New Zealand ran riot against Italy on Friday, running out 96-17 victors, taking a step closer to to reaching the final eight in France.

In the post-match press conference, Foster took a shot at the way the Springboks played against Ireland last weeks titanic clash and heaped praise on his charges for showcasing a "different game" against the Azzurri.

"If you look at the South Africa-Ireland game, it was a different game of rugby," he said.

"The ball was in play for 27 minutes throughout the whole game. It was a very stop-start game, very physical, very combative. You saw a different spectacle tonight and at some point the world has got to decide which game it would rather watch."

Taking to social media, Erasmus was quick to point out that there was actually little to chose between the two matches in terms of ball in play time. His tweet featured two graphics side by side showing 29:56 minutes in the Boks loss to Ireland versus 32:07 minutes in the All Blacks wholloping of Italy.

"Ian [is] always a straight shooter and say it as it is," tweeted Erasmus.

"[I] have respect for him since he coached the Chiefs. But I think two minutes more ball in play and an epic battle between Ireland and the Boks is the game I would rather watch! While saying that, your boys were crisp and clinical."

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