'It's good': Why no referee rant from Springboks after latest loss
It’s amazing the difference seven weeks can make. Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus went on the warpath in the wake of the June 24 defeat for the Springboks against the Lions, querying a vast array of first Test refereeing decisions and complaining about the snail pace feedback after submitting clips for review. That outburst landed him a misconduct charge from World Rugby.
The Springboks had been on the right side of the results since then, bouncing back to twice beat the Lions and win the series while also defeating Argentina twice in the Rugby Championship. That sequence meant that the standard of refereeing in those games wasn’t the hot topic it was when Erasmus filmed his extraordinary 62-minute tirade.
It was always going to take another Springboks loss to see if anything had changed in the wake of the Erasmus bust-up and it seemingly has. Erasmus isn’t with the Springboks in Australia and it was left to head coach Jacques Nienaber to attend to the post-mortem and any issues the South Africans had coming out of last Sunday’s last-gasp loss to the Wallabies.
That was a contest where the coach admitted that the discipline of his Springboks was poor in that they allowed Quade Cooper to hurt them off the kicking tee. But more importantly, given the unprecedented rumpus caused by Erasmus, it appears that the Springboks have established a more fruitful communication with World Rugby and the match referees regarding how they go about getting post-match feedback on decisions they want to be reviewed.
That sounds like a very different situation to what unfolded in the aftermath of the first Test loss to the Lions. “We have got a framework that we work with now that we probably didn’t know,” explained Nienaber at a media briefing ahead of this Saturday’s rematch with the Wallabies in Brisbane.
"If you look at it unemotionally you can say we could have won the Test match and nobody would have said anything, it wouldn't have been a debate"
– Jacques Nienaber had a busy media briefing after naming an XV with just two changes #Springboks #RSAvAUShttps://t.co/5YHpT2KI5z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 15, 2021
“It’s the same framework they used in the Six Nations and us not playing any rugby (in 20 months) before the Georgia Test match, we didn’t 100 per cent know what the process was. We made our clips (after Sunday’s game) and they went out on Monday after our review. It went through to Joel (Jutge, the referees boss) for World Rugby. They reviewed it and came back to us. The purpose of that is to get alignment from our side.
“Everybody makes mistakes. We make mistakes, referees sometimes get things wrong, you can’t get everything right. But let’s say a player conceded three penalties and the referee will come back and say it was maybe a 50/50 call that maybe could have gone the other way or maybe he wasn’t offside, he didn’t transgress… then that will influence selection.
“You will look at the player and say, ‘Listen, you conceded three but they came back and said two of those weren’t (penalties) when they had all the angles and looked at it and play on would have been a better call’. That will influence the selection and that is all we want, to have clarity on the Test match so that when we select the team or we start talking about team selection that we don’t nail a player because his discipline was poor if it comes back from a referee that a better option there might have been play on.
“I must say the feedback and the work from them has been good, from Joel’s side and from the referee’s side. There is good alignment and we will have another opportunity during the week to talk with them, a meeting on Thursday or Friday with the referees just to get clarity with our captain and vice-captains, get them talking and get a relationship going so when they meet each other on the pitch it is not the first time they will have a chat about certain things.
“I thought our discipline was poor,” he continued, reflecting on last weekend’s defeat on the Gold Coast. “Not poor in the sense that we conceded more penalties than Australia. We didn’t concede more penalties than them but for our standard and the fact we only conceded one try and scored three, they had kicks at goals and four of them were offside penalties. It is the most offside penalties we conceded in the Test matches that I have been involved in. That is what I mean by indiscipline.”
"The Wallabies were far more patient in terms of their tactical approach and found a better blend."
– Former Springbok scrumhalf Neil de Kock breaks down the loss to Australia. https://t.co/ts3qMz5tG5— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 16, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Four Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
1 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
10 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
18 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
15 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
2 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
1 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
10 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
10 Go to commentsWho’d have thought, not having Farrell & Youngs kicking the ball at every possible opportunity and playing flat and allowing your centres to run and pass would pay off? No one could possibly have seen this coming. FML. It took a LONG time coming but at least that time has finally come. England need to find a backup to Lawrence. Freeman is the best candidate for me, I see no reason why he can't play 12. He's big, strong, fast and has great hands.
10 Go to commentsLove Manu but he's not the player he was and I imagine Bayonne have paid too much money for him.
3 Go to commentsNew Zealand have not beaten England since 2018 and even that was a pretty close shave.
1 Go to comments“a renewed focus on Scottish-qualified players” Scottish-qualified is another way of saying English. England has development more players for the Scotland national Rugby team in the last 4 years, than Scotland has.
2 Go to commentsThis sounds a lot like the old Welsh rugby proverb “Wales never lose. Other teams just score more points.”
5 Go to commentsFinally,at last, Borthwick has done what the whole of England have been crying out for. Ditch the kick chase and let the players have freedom to attack and run with the ball. It was great to see. Ford played really well and for the first time in ages was 5 yards closer to the gainline which then allowed a more attacking position . Pity it has taken 90 odd caps to do so. However, this has to continue and not be a false dawn . One issue. Marcus. With Ford having one really good game in 5 ,is he the answer long term . Smith puts bums on seats and is terrific to watch . How can you leave him out before he departs for France in disillusion . England are in danger of Simmons , Alex Goode , Cipriani , Mercer and now Smith being unable to get a selection ahead of “favourites” of the management regardless of form . Great to see England play so well .
2 Go to commentsCockerill was an abrasive player in the mould of a Georgian front rower who will have the respect of that pack. Looking forward to seeing what he can do with this exciting team, hopefully they can send a message to unions like Wales that money alone doesn't buy you wins.
2 Go to commentsI like the look of those July matches. Hopefully they'll get some good tests in November too.
2 Go to commentsThis is a poor article, essentially just trolling six nations teams
22 Go to commentsConnaught man? How you can write that without blushing.
6 Go to comments