REPORT: Nigel Owens says no to Rassie

SPOTLIGHT: Former referee Nigel Owens has reportedly turned down an offer to join the Springboks’ coaching team ahead of this year’s World Cup in France.

South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus has been working hard behind the scenes trying to get Owens’ services as a referee coach this year.

However, according to Welsh publication WalesOnline, Owens has now told Erasmus that he cannot accept the role.

It’s an interesting development as it was just last week in an interview with the Daily Mail, where Erasmus revealed he was on the verge of securing the Welshman’s services.

#ICYMI: Rassie Erasmus made no secret of his desire to take on another coaching challenge one day. 👇#SouthAfrica #Springboks #SARugby https://t.co/oIlNIk2ngX

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) April 4, 2023

Last month, Erasmus admitted he has made ‘some errors’ in dealing with match officials in the past and that is one of the reasons behind the attempt to get Owens on board.

Erasmus received a year-long stadium ban for his infamous hour-long video criticising referee Nic Berry’s performance in the first Test between the Springboks and the British and Irish Lions in 2021.

The SARU boss again made headlines again in November last year when he received a two-game ban for a string of Twitter posts focusing on refereeing decisions in their narrow defeats to Ireland and France.

“I don’t want to talk myself into a hole again here. We basically felt we have to repair this because obviously there’s not a great relationship. We want to reset that. It’s a genuine need for us to change,” Erasmus told the Daily Mail.

“If we get our way, we will have him as soon as possible. We are very aligned in terms of the way world rugby’s going with safety, tackling, head contact. So, it’s the perception of whether or not something’s OK when we send it to World Rugby.

“Maybe Nigel could talk to them for us. And then there’s his knowledge in reviews, previews, videos. We want someone to be a full-on management member. It would be great.”

Sources: WalesOnline and Daily Mail.