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'He's done a hell of a job' - Rassie's rant more masterstroke than meltdown?
By Ian Cameron
Rassie Erasmus’s hour-long video rant that was released on social media this morning could be a masterstroke, not a meltdown- argues Bernard Jackman.
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The Irish rugby pundit and coach thinks that the South Africa Director of Rugby’s latest social media turn may well end up being a genius exercise in sleight of hand, should the Springboks bounce back in the second Test.
Erasmus drilled down into what he perceived as errors made in the refereeing of Nic Berry and his fellow officials, as well as explaining why he felt he was left with no option but to make his complaints public.
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“I’ll step away from the last two Test matches, but let the Springboks and the Lions have an equal chance on the field when it comes to laws, respect, the way players get treated, what is said in a pre-match coaches meeting with the referees, how they give feedback post that, and how things get said in the media,” Erasmus said in a video that topped out at over an hour.
Jackman, who was speaking on RTE Sport, thinks it could yet be the World Cup-winning coach’s coup de maître.
“He was explaining step by step what’s led him to using social media as an avenue to voice his frustration.
“People are saying he’s losing it blah blah blah, but he explains why he’s doing it and there’s a bit of back and forth and he said, she said about Warren Gatland, but his big issue from what I can see is his lack of communication from the refereeing team and his lack of understanding of the protocols in advance.”
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Officials have to first meet with World Rugby’s head of referring, Joel Jutge, before having a sit down with either team after a match.
“He did admit that Joel Jutge had sent an email saying these are the protocols that are in place for the Six Nations, and they will last for the Lions tour. His argument is that they were not involved in the Six Nations and that Tuesday was too late to have the review.
“There’s a reason I think he doing it. It’s completely taken the spotlight away from the players.
“There were a lot of average Bok performances at the weekend, over the 80 minutes. No one is talking about them.
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“No one is talking about Itoje getting one up one up on Etzebeth. There are not many people talking about Siya Kolisi being quiet. They’re all talking about Rassie. If that’s his prime concern, he’s done a hell of a good job.
“If win a Test match, it will be seen as being part of it.”
