I know Springboks have gone too far in past but their approach gets people talking
Some of the greatest players to have ever played are often accused of having the referee in their pocket. But, in my experience, the greatest players do not intimidate or harangue you; instead, they use their encyclopaedic knowledge of the law book to make you question yourself.
Richie McCaw, contrary to what most people think, hardly spoke to referees during a match, but when he did, he knew his stuff. He asked the right question at the right time, sewing a seed of doubt in a referee’s mind, so when he attempted the next turnover, or counter-rucked at the next breakdown, his words were still lingering in your mind.
Sam Warburton’s question to Romain Poite at the end of the final Lions Test in New Zealand not only showed perfect timing, but also a captain who knew the laws of the game inside out.
This weekend at Twickenham, we will see a visiting team and a coach who not only know the law book word for word, but they also know the match-day regulations almost as if they were the ones who drafted them.
During the 2021 Lions tour, I was running touch in the opening Springbok game against Georgia. In the first few minutes of the match, I called in an offside penalty from the touchline only to find a large presence looming next to me, telling his team that “they are going to be hot on those tonight”.
The water carrier was not who I would normally expect to be running on the team’s fluids. Often, it would be the team’s strength and conditioning or kicking coach. That evening, however, it was the World Cup-winning coach Rassie Erasmus. He and his team had realised that the way the regulations were worded meant he could not only ‘hydrate’ his team but, as Erasmus now had the title of Director of Rugby, he could also be on hand to run on messages and coaching tactics too.
As I sat in my hotel watching South Africa’s first game of the 2023 World Cup against Scotland, I quickly noticed different coloured lights illuminating the coaching box. Again, nothing in the laws or regulations said messages could not be passed on through the 21st century’s answer to semaphore but, again, it got tongues wagging about whether it was acceptable for coaches to communicate with their players in such a way.
And then in the 36th minute of the pulsating World Cup quarter-final between South Africa and France in 2023, Damian Willemse called for a mark in his own 22 and, rather than taking a quick tap or sending the ball up into the Stade de France lights, he opted for a scrum. And scrum they did. They scrummed until the referee stuck out his arm indicating a penalty had been won.
All of these examples had the rule-makers running around to close loopholes. Removing the scrum as an option from a free-kick being one. I always enjoyed their ingenuity and the way in which they jumped on ambiguities in the law book; it must be the lawyer in me.
Smart South African additions
Do not be surprised if this weekend we see another gem from their box of tricks, particularly with some new faces in the South African coaching box.
My first experience of Tony Brown, the new South African assistant coach, was in the lead-up to the quarter-final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Brown was then the assistant coach of Japan and before the game, the match officials sat down to discuss what type of challenges might be coming our way. Ben O’Keeffe, the Kiwi referee, and my assistant for that match, pulled out a show-reel of innovative plays from the ‘Tony Brown playbook’ and as we scrolled through clips of outrageous dummies, overhead bicycle kicks and penalty moves not seen since the 1980s. We knew we needed to prepare for the unexpected.
Also in the Springboks’ entourage is ex-international referee Jaco Peyper, who joined the coaching team at the start of the year, following his retirement from refereeing. Jaco was brought in to start to rebuild the relationship between the Springboks and World Rugby’s high-performance referees, following the unprecedented and unacceptable attack by Rassie Erasmus on Nic Berry during the 2021 Lions Test. Though I enjoy inventiveness when it comes to the law book, the decision to go after Nic was calculated, vindictive and undermined the values of rugby. That attack earned him a two-month ban from all rugby activities.
The following November, Erasmus received two more weeks when it was my turn to cop it after he posted a number of videos on social media criticising the decisions I made in a match France narrowly won. He decided to review my decisions on social media instead of the agreed review process. I learnt quite quickly that when fans see a coach or manager slag off a referee in public, it has a knock-on effect. And when the coach of the world champions publicly decided to criticise me, others felt entitled to join in, the attitude seemed to be, ‘if he can do it, why can’t I?’
Bringing in Jaco is a smart move by the Springboks, not just to improve relationships but to improve their discipline too, and if you need evidence of referees playing a vital role in a coaching set-up, you only need to look across the channel to see the impact that Jérôme Garcès has had on the French team. Their penalty count during the 2023 World Cup was a measly 5.59 per match with him working with their team, compared with almost 14 per match at the previous tournament. I also see that my old mate Nigel Owens is part of the Welsh set-up now, too.
How to prepare for the Boks
The last time I refereed the Springboks was in the 2023 World Cup final, and like every one of my 110 Test matches before, I looked at the way in which the game could pan out and the challenges that it would bring the officiating team. Number one on that list was the scrum, particularly after the reward South Africa got in the semi-final against England in Paris.
The scrummaging contest that night was one of the best I had seen in my career. That was mainly due to both teams scrummaging at a height which meant they would not fall on their faces with the slightest bit of movement. Andrew Brace, this week’s referee, will be hoping to see the scrums off the ground this weekend, so that we can all appreciate the contest between Ellis Genge and Wilco Louw on one side, and Ox Nche and Will Stuart on the other.
Prior to the final, we also looked at the contest for possession following box-kicks. Throughout the tournament, South Africa had legally protected their full-back by creating a ‘glove’ around their catcher. This was done by slowing down as a group in front of where the ball was going to be caught, which prevented opponents from being able to compete.
We wanted to ensure that neither team strayed the wrong side of the law by obstructing their opponent and so we reminded both teams of their responsibilities in this aspect of the game. World Rugby have now clamped down on that ‘escorting’ tactic, believing it prevents a fair contest. Teams are no longer allowed to slow down to protect their catcher and so Brace will be looking for both teams to allow access to the catcher so the kicking teams are able to fairly contest.
Richard Wigglesworth spoke this week about his concern that such a ruling will lead to an increase in kicking. I hope he is wrong, or this will be another example of the lawmakers not considering the unintended consequences of a small law tweak!
Innovation enhances Twickenham experience
I have been at Twickenham for the first two matches of the November series and have been blown away by the passion of the England fans and the noise that they are making, particularly during the anthem.
Also impressive has been the innovation of enabling the referee to communicate directly with the stadium crowd through the PA system. No longer is it a better fan experience at home on the sofa as you can now listen to a referee and their TMO interact during those crucial decisions while sitting in the West Stand with a beer in your hand.
I cannot wait for this blockbuster on Saturday.