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Bok fans react to Scotland-Ireland referee appointment
By Ian Cameron
The appointment of Australian referee Nic Berry for the upcoming Pool B decider between Ireland and Scotland at the 2023 Rugby World Cup has stirred a largely good-humoured debate among Bok fans.
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Admittedly, the choice of Berry to officiate a match that could significantly impact South Africa’s World Cup hopes has raised eyebrows with some more paranoid fans, primarily due to the contentious history between Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and Berry.
The appointment, which was made way back on August 22 , has resulted in much guffawing from the wider rugby community, for whom the serendipity of such an appointment is not lost.
The rugby world still vividly remembers the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour, during which Berry was the centre of attention due to the reaction of the Springboks’ coaching ticket to their negative perception of his performance in the first Test.
Erasmus publicly criticized Berry’s refereeing decisions in a now infamous online rant, leading to a highly charged atmosphere during the series and many newspaper headlines.
The content of the video ultimately led to a hefty ban for Erasmus, as World Rugby perceived that it incited abusive behaviour towards the Australian whistler.
The fact that he is now refereeing such a pivotal game for the Boks has triggered plenty of chat on X.
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South African journalist Brendan Nel wrote: “The irony of World Rugby appointing Nic Berry for the Ireland-Scotland game is not lost on anyone…”
The irony of World Rugby appointing Nic Berry for the Ireland-Scotland game is not lost on anyone… pic.twitter.com/NWxz7huyfM
— Brenden Nel (@Brendennel) October 4, 2023
Another account wrote: “No one could’ve script this any better. Rassie’s RWC fate lies on Nic Berry’s whistle he critiqued 2 years ago. We’ve come full circle.”
Squidge Rugby was a voice of sanity, writing: “He’s a professional, not some random fan…To avoid these conversations. Nic Berry, Angus Gardner & Paul Williams refereed their own nations over COVID and there were no complaints of bias, because they’re professionals.”
The reality is that the Springboks, no matter what referees Nic Berry does, are highly likely to make the quarterfinals, despite the gnashing of teeth from a small section of fans. Nevertheless, the appointment made nearly two months ago will no doubt be more grist to the mill for the more paranoid subset of Bok fans.
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More often South Africa has to worry about the TMO. Forget about the ref.
Nic berry or Angus Gardiner are great referees.
All good lads , this is rugby so we can count on a fair game ,,,, it's not football that only consists of fake injury and money laundering 🙈😜🍺👍
Does anyone seriously think Nic Berry will engineer a Scotland win to spite Rassie? Rugby scribes are getting dumber by the day
Rassie is trying to influence referees at the World Cup with such comments. Foster is too. Calm down everyone. It’s not sour grapes. It’s thinking ahead. Putting referees on notice and playing mind games with world rugby in the hope that Nic Berry won’t referee any of their games coming up. It’s not petty shenanigans. It’s bigger picture antics.
quite right but the usual will have theirsh;t to say
Gents, and ladies perhaps if there are any here, Rassie was not wrong with the 62 minute video of Nic Berry in 2021. He said it like he saw it, he picked up on a lot of Nic’s mistakes of which there were plenty. As a professional ref particularly at high level matches, you cannot be cowtowing to the whims and wheres of the players. You gotta be able to be above that as well. Not letting one team get to you. On top of that as a ref, you gotta understand that a huge portion of fans are inevitably not going to like you during and after every match. It's how it is.
Nic Berry hid behind the skirts of World Rugby to protect him from a game that was far from fair. Even for the B&I Lions in that game there were calls that went awry.
What happened to the panel that would critique a ref after each game so that he can improve and know what is the best calls to make in any given circumstance? I haven't heard of any ref getting any sort of positive criticism recently.
Jean Claude
It would be justice if Ireland lost to Scotland and the Box were sent home, wouldn’t it. Rassie would then have 4 years to cry like the moaning baby he is!
looking at these comments just makes me grin from ear to ear, these fools never learned. It’s just a catalyst for the Springboks, so carry on please, keep it coming.
But yeah haters are gonna hate, and jealousy makes you nasty it’s probably because their teams suck, except for Ireland, those blokes are great sportsmen unlike the AB’s that cry foul every time they lose.
Here is a little word of advice, you want to weaken the Springboks……this is not the way to do it
I call it karma…Rassie can't get his way all the time, hopefully he will throw all his toys out of the cot😆😆