'I'm not criticising them': Rassie shares thoughts on new officiating protocols
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has shed light on the new World Rugby referee protocols during the Nations Championship following Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada’s grievances after his team’s defeat to the All Blacks.
New Zealand have made a strong start to their Nations Championship campaign, matching South Africa’s unbeaten opening record with two wins from two matches.
They narrowly defeated France 34-32 before producing a commanding 47-17 victory over Italy, showcasing the attacking style and physical intensity that Dave Rennie is looking to build.
However, following the defeat to the All Blacks, Quesada was left frustrated, questioning several officiating decisions, including the reversal of Ruben Love’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.
Love was handed a yellow card by referee Luc Ramos. However, it was overturned after the TMO Ben Whitehouse ruled that an Italian player had knocked the ball on first.
Erasmus was reluctant to comment directly on the controversy but explained that World Rugby’s officiating protocols have recently changed.
“These new protocols, it’s been well communicated, ” Erasmus told reporters, adding: “We weren’t part of the meeting; they changed it there where you can’t communicate with match officials directly anymore, and you can’t have a meeting with match officials before the game.
“I can explain it because I don’t think it’s a secret. How it works is the referee on the day would email you and say, ‘Do you guys want a meeting with the referee?’ If both coaches don’t say yes, then you don’t have a meeting. If both coaches do say yes, then you have a meeting together with the referee.”
Erasmus revealed there has been no communication with referees in the Nations Championship.
“Now we haven’t had a meeting with the referee because other coaches haven’t said yes, so that’s new,” Erasmus said.
“I don’t 100% understand the logic behind it. Not criticising them, of course; they communicated that to us and put it through.
“Another interesting one is you can only put six comments in the system if you have any queries. Back in the days when I sent the video, which was very long, you can now only send in six things you can load up, but everybody sees it anyway now.
“So if you have to load those six things up, all the other coaches see it, all the referees see it, so it’s almost now impossible to criticise the referee because if you have 10 or 12 things that bothered you from the past game or in the game that’s coming, you either have to sit with the other coach and the referee, or you have to put it on the AMS system, they call it, then all the referees see it and all the coaches see it. So, it’s almost like you’re publishing something now.”
Erasmus admitted he was still trying to understand the reasoning behind the changes.
“I know Quesada really well, he’s a good guy, and Italy is certainly a team that I thought last year was on the up.
“He was probably also a bit frustrated with that. I can’t speak for him, but there’s been a protocol change.
“I’m not sure if it’s bettering our game, the new protocol.”
