Our former elite match official gives their verdict on the Springboks chief's latest high-profile moment
Secret Referee assesses Erasmus video
One of rugby’s most treasured values is the level of respect afforded to its match officials. Good, bad or indifferent, rugby players, coaches and spectators usually keep their comments and criticisms respectful, measured and relatively well-informed.
Following the first British & Irish Lions Test against South Africa, the Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has launched what can only be described as an hour-long rant, criticising the officiating in the first Test.
Whilst no referee is perfect and there were some questionable decisions made by Australian Nic Berry, I’m very confident that a huge majority of rugby folk would agree that the Lions, on the day, were the better team.
Related: Rassie Erasmus critical of officiating in new video
Erasmus’s assertion that the Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, was treated less respectfully than his opposite number is just fantasy. Kolisi is a talisman of the modern game and he commands the utmost respect.
Personally, I am disappointed at the lack of action by World Rugby over Erasmus’s role as a water-carrier, which is clearly pushing boundaries. For him to suggest any kind of manipulation of the match officials when he himself is actually on the field of play and in close proximity to the referee 12 to 15 times a game is somewhat ironic!
“His claim that it was made in a personal capacity is just not credible”
Whatever the motivation for his extraordinary, hypocritical monologue, his claim that it was made in a personal capacity is just not credible.
Wearing his Springbok training top and baseball cap, Erasmus drove a bus through one of rugby’s core values, knowing very well that World Rugby has a very clear process for coaches to feedback on the performance of referees.
As one of the most high-profile figures in the international game, you’re never off duty; particularly when a video of you somehow manages to find its way online for the whole world to see!
What do you think of Erasmus’s video? Let us know by emailing rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or get in touch via social media.
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