How do you solve a problem like Rassie?

By Gavin Huet

Rassie Erasmus, the current Springbok Director of Rugby has once again been banned from rugby activities, this time for two games.

Erasmus, who coached the Springboks to the 2019 Rugby World Cup title and was subsequently named the 2019 Coach of the Year, has previous form for using social media to attack referees.

So what has he done this time?

Following losses to both Ireland and a week later to France, Erasmus took to social media (Twitter) to have a whinge at the officials for calls that went against the Boks. This time he phrased his criticisms as things the Boks themselves needed to address going forward, such as a forward pass, or to be tackled legally etc. but it was clearly aimed at the officials.

Why has he done it, again?

Erasmus would probably say that he is highlighting refereeing issues that he believes has caused the Boks to lose the game. It is also a very obvious attempt to deflect the criticism of the team and put pressure on the officials to favour the Boks next time. You could argue it worked the first time during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021 so why not do it again?

Does he have a point though?

Coaches, like fans, will always see things in a certain way and highlight any calls against them whilst conveniently looking away at any calls that benefited them. Was Willie le Roux’s pass forward? Did Sipili Falatea make a triple movement to score the winning try for France? Rugby is so technical you could easily find something that you feel is incorrect without much effort, in fact it is the perfect sport for armchair enthusiasts who think they know more than a professional referee. But let’s be realistic, the officials are human and will not get everything correct in every game. And even if a call is correct, fans will still be left fuming because their team has lost out. The fact that rugby union has laws which are more open to interpretation does not help – what is fine one year is clamped down on the next. And then there are the ex-players turned commentators who confuse viewers with their ignorance of the laws and their implementation – whittling on about “intent” being one of the main culprits here.

Is there precedent for coaches to criticise decisions?

English fans backed Sir Clive Woodward when he rolled out a Powerpoint presentation on the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005 – this is still being talked about 17 years later! The big difference for me is that Erasmus has used social media which gives everyone the chance to pile on, whereas Sir Clive used a press conference which was limited to rugby journalists. Coaches often use press conferences to make mischief (looking at you Eddie Jones) but out and out attacking an official at international level would be rare.

Are there ways he could address these issues without targeting officials?

Yes, complaints and citings etc. can be lodged after the game. Erasmus supporters will say that by airing these complaints in public World Rugby will be forced to become better, whatever that may mean. It would be naive to think that the games and performances are not reviewed as part of the process anyway.

Are we media training the personalities out of rugby?

For years fans have bemoaned the lack of personality from rugby players and coaches, the press conferences and post match interviews come across as being more scripted than a Shortland Street episode with the same lines being regurgitated every time. Erasmus is not shy in coming forward and expressing his opinion and that is fantastic, but social media is not the platform to launch an attack on officials. It is fine to say that you are not happy with some decisions, but that should be the extent of it as everyone knows that already. I think it is great that Erasmus has a social media presence and uses it, it is however unfortunate that he has chosen to use it in a negative way.

What next for World Rugby?

Having punished Erasmus twice already, everyone will expect everything he says in the future to be fully scrutinised and if found to be controversial the punishment to be handed down swiftly. I would expect that for the upcoming World Cup that there will be some very strict rules put in place to stop similar things from happening again.

What next for Rassie?

I think that SA Rugby should step in and remove Erasmus’ social media accounts, he is generating a lot of bad press for not just them but World Rugby too. Everything he says will now be analysed by opponents to gain an edge over the Springboks which is the opposite of what Erasmus is trying to achieve. With a World Cup around the corner his energy would be better served preparing for the defence of their title – the consequence of him being banned for the RWC final would be the ultimate self inflicted injury and there would be little or no sympathy for him. If he continues he will quickly discover how he can go from being held in high regard to being just another angry bloke on the internet with a few reckons.

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