Erasmus says media now the only outlet for pre-Test referee concerns

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus says coaches are increasingly being forced to use the media to raise concerns about refereeing before Test matches, after World Rugby changed the rules governing pre-match meetings.

Erasmus was speaking on Monday ahead of the opening match of the Greatest Rivalry series between South Africa and the All Blacks, which takes place at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Under the revised arrangements, a meeting involving the two teams and the referee can only be held if both sides agree. If either team declines, no meeting takes place.

Erasmus said he had chosen not to hold one this week because the All Blacks had already played four matches on their tour, giving the Springboks enough information to identify the issues they needed to address before the Test.

The All Blacks have repeatedly highlighted what they believe is a slow approach by South African teams when setting up set-pieces. Erasmus and referee advisor Jaco Peyper responded on Monday by insisting that South Africa’s methods comply with the regulations set by World Rugby.

“There’s definitely frustration among the coaches that you can’t have meetings with the referee if both teams don’t agree, and it’s now at a stage where you almost accept that both teams’ coaches aren’t always going to agree to a pre-match meeting,” Erasmus said.

“I myself this week said no, we don’t need one because it doesn’t help now, after they played four games, and now we wanted to sort out things in three training sessions.

“We had to look at what they put on AMS, and that’s a central system, and then sort of learn from what the answers are from World Rugby.

“I don’t think it’s a tactic… It’s an obvious thing: if you want to get something out, you have to get it out here because you can’t really talk to the referee.”

Erasmus said it was understandable that the All Blacks had spoken publicly about their concerns, because a private meeting could not be used to raise an issue if South Africa did not agree to attend.

“So, I think teeing up the referees with things you want to do is very difficult, and I totally understand why the All Blacks voice some of their concerns. If they genuinely believe we slow down the game, they can’t say it’s a meeting with us being present and we are arguing with them.”

The Springboks coach believes the new process has created a communication gap between coaches, specialist scrum coaches and referees. In his view, tactical points that might previously have been discussed directly are now being aired through news conferences and other media engagements.

“It’s a very natural thing to do in the media now,” Erasmus said.

“I feel, and I know a lot of international coaches feel that way, it’s very clear what you must do and what you can’t do.

“It’s in place, and we understand that it’s there. I don’t understand why it’s like that, but I think there’s definitely a gap now between coaches, scrum coaches, and referees, and small tactical things, then you voice your opinion in the media.

“That’s the only option.”

It remains to be seen how the debate will affect Saturday’s contest in Johannesburg. Kick-off is at 17:10.