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Jaco Peyper denied in 'robust and direct terms' a Nic Berry claim
By Liam Heagney
It has emerged from the evidence given at the Rassie Erasmus misconduct hearing that Test level referee Jaco Peyper was at odds with his colleague Nic Berry regarding their recollection of a telephone call between them last July in the wake of the first Test win by the Lions over the Springboks. The fallout from that match resulted in this week’s heavy sanction for Erasmus, the Springboks director, who was banned from all rugby for two months and from any matchday involvement until the end of September 2022.
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The suspension stemmed from criticisms made by Erasmus about Berry, the Australian referee who was in charge of the Test series opener in Cape Town, and the 80-page written judgment published since the ban was announced has shed light on how the entire case played out.
One sticking point went unresolved, however – the different opinions that were given in evidence by Peyper, a South African referee, and Berry regarding the phone call that took place between them at 7:51pm on July 25, the day after the Lions has struck the first blow in the Test series against the Springboks.
Their detailed evidence was set out in the post-hearing document published by the judicial committee. In it, it outlined what was said at the hearing by Berry and fellow referee Peyper. “I’m able to get Jaco on the phone,” said Berry. “We speak for ten minutes. He tells me that Rassie has called him and wants him to comment on the clips.
“Jaco refuses and said that it is unprofessional and out of protocol. He says that Rassie is putting AJ Jacobs under pressure to comment on the clips as he is in camp with the SA team. We discuss the fact that Rassie has threatened to leak footage on social media. I ask Jaco for his advice and he suggests that I should try and get ahead of it and respond to Rassie’s clips.”
The written judgment contained the entire clip by clip reply that Berry, the first Lions Test referee, sent to Springboks boss Erasmus in July…#Springboks
https://t.co/EjQlcpZ9g8— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 18, 2021
In contrast, Peyper claimed: “Mr Berry did not indicate to me that Rassie threatened to leak footage on social media. He only asked for my advice whether he should provide answers to the video clips received from the Springbok management team and I recommended that from experience he should do so, as that often defuses the media reporting the next day as teams now engage with the referee and not the mainstream rugby media.
“My view, as expressed to Mr Berry during the telephonic conversation, was that it would be preferable for him to engage with the Springbok management team rather than to ignore the request as in my experience, providing a response has had the effect of diffusing tensions between coaches and referees. This, in turn, leads to fewer comments in the media about refereeing decisions from previous matches and an increased focus on preparations for upcoming matches.”
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In their summation of these two contradictory pieces of evidence, the judicial committee wrote: “We considered with care the evidence of Jacob Peyper. He denied that during the call at 19.51 that night Nic Berry told him that Rassie Erasmus had threatened to leak the clips on social media. He denied in robust and direct terms that Nic Berry showed him a draft version of his statement which Nic Berry said he approved.
“Nic Berry was more circumspect in his evidence and characterised the difference as one of recollection. We do not need to resolve that dispute between refereeing colleagues. There is ample evidence, which we accept, which supports Nic Berry’s version of events.”
"My reputation as a referee and person will forever be tarnished"
– What Nic Berry told the judicial hearing about how the 'character assassination' by Rassie Erasmus damaged him#Springbokshttps://t.co/BJ2uN3Z5Rb
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 18, 2021
Nick Berry lmao, running to mommy with his fruitcake, Rassie you total gangsta. It's good for World Rugby, has anyone else witnessed a substantial improvement in refereeing since?? It's been like a day and night change. They totally pulled their socks up after that video.
Nic Berry is a third rate referee and everyone knows this, not wanting to agree does not change this, the facts surrounding his shocking performance bear testimony to this.
Hounding Rassie because he had had enough of this poor refereeing is the issue, not whether Berry is useless, as this is already well known by all!
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Why a witch hunt case? Is it to save the referees because it seems that some of them is getting paid to determine the outcome.......little bit of crit is not bad , learn from your mistakes
Baaahhh,
A South African Ref siding with another South African, would you expect anything different?
And World Rugby claimed the lying Aussie had no reason to lie. But it is clear he did and his reason too is clear: to make himself a victim instead of an incompetent.
This is pure gold. Showing the due process as a witch hunt, taking a liar Ozzie prima Donna’s word over someone else’s just to prove your point. You’ve just thrown Peyper under the bus who just happens to be one of the best refs you’ve actually got.