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Richard Cockerill: 'They think they can influence the referee... it's theatre'

Coach Richard Cockerill of Georgia looks on ahead of the International Test Match between Australia Wallabies and Georgia at Allianz Stadium on July 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Georgia rugby head coach Richard Cockerill has offered an insight into how Top 14 rugby coaches operate, including what he sees as their attempts to influence referees by coaching from the sidelines.

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Cockerill’s coaching tenure in France included roles with Toulon and Montpellier, providing him experience in Top 14 club management.

Unlike in most professional rugby union competitions where coaches are normally to be found in the coaches’ boxes halfway up the stand, in France’s domestic league head coaches are typically found on the sidelines alongside the replacements bench – football-dugout-style. It can lead to all sorts of amusing shenanigans including coach versus coach bust-ups and the odd angry interactions between coaches and opposition players.

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Bok centre Andre Esterhuizen on facing Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones

The Springboks are bracing themselves for a midfield battle of epic proportions when they come up against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

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Bok centre Andre Esterhuizen on facing Scotland duo Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones

The Springboks are bracing themselves for a midfield battle of epic proportions when they come up against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Speaking in a recent interview on the Oval Studio with Nika Chalatashvili, the former England forward who has also coached in France, shared his perspective on the cultural nuances he believes are unique to French rugby.

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Asked why in the Top 14 French coaches are normally to be found in the pitch-side during games, Cockerill said it was partly gamesmanship, partly due to television.

“They think they can influence the referee,” said Cockerill. “Yeah, and it’s theatre for the TV, you know? They think it’s more… I don’t know the right word… theatrical.

“Players don’t listen when you… no, no, so it’s the referee. And it’s, I think, about the individual being the star of the show.”

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In addition to discussing French coaching practices, Cockerill shared his views on the influence of Southern Hemisphere nations on rugby’s evolving rules. Responding to the interviewer’s question about frequent law changes in rugby, Cockerill addressed the challenges that adjustments create, particularly for newer rugby nations like Georgia.

“I think it’s a common problem, not just here. In Europe, in England, it’s the same. You want neutral people who don’t understand rugby that well to come and watch, but every season the rules change, and I agree, for safety, you have to keep the game safe.

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Richard Cockerill, head coach of Georgia, appears during warm up prior to the 2024 Rugby Europe Championship round 3 match between Georgia and Spain at Avchala Rugby Stadium on February 17, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia. (Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images)

“But I think it’s also about trying to make the game more entertaining for spectators.

“I’ve played and coached for 40 years, and sometimes I watch a game and I don’t know what’s going on. So, imagine if you’ve only just come to the game, or it’s new to you, and you’re trying to follow. I look at it sometimes and think, ‘I have no idea what the referee’s doing there.’”

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It was put to him that the South Hemisphere was one of the main driving forces behind law changes and he was asked did they have that sort of power. Cockerill didn’t pull his punches.

“Yes, of course they are [behind law changes],” said Cockerill. “Apparently, they do [have that much power].

“It’s also because of their playing environment. They want a fast, open-flowing game, which is fine when it’s dry and on good pitches. In the Six Nations, it’s cold and wet, which doesn’t lend itself to free-flowing play, but in the southern hemisphere, both teams often want to play the same way.

“I’ve known southern hemisphere coaches who come to the northern hemisphere, and they struggle with the variety in play styles here. The beauty of rugby is that teams can play differently depending on their strengths, but we’re losing some of that.”

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Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)

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J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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