Ref abuse: Wakefield says WP will be much tougher now
“Elton has played consistently well for the Lions this season and they could not possibly be where they are in the competition without a flyhalf in great form, and a year on after the disappointment for all of us in 2016, Elton is now showing that he is enjoying the pressure of international rugby.
“There is a different kind of pressure in Test rugby and Elton understands that now.”
Jantjies, ever reluctant to talk, shyly said that he had settled down this season in the Springbok team, albeit only one Test into the year because he was reacting better to pressure.
“This year at the Boks in our training camps, we have looked at fixing what happened last year, and with the guys now buying into the way we want to play, it is easier for me to take responsibility for making decisions,” Jantjies said.
“While we are of course expecting the forwards to make the ball as quick as possible, the flyhalf can dictate play when the quality possession is there and the guys outside him know how we plan to attack.”
It has made it much easier for Jantjies to have a game-making axis in fellow Lions players Warren Whiteley (No 8), Ross Cronje (9) and then outside backs in Andries Coetzee, Courtnall Skosan and now (in all probability) Lionel Mapoe at 13 (for the injured Jesse Kriel), with the starting line-up to be named today.
“Obviously, it makes it easier for you when the players either side of you are all speaking the same rugby language (that of the Lions),” Jantjies said.
“It makes it easier to premeditate the calls because each guy knows what you are going to do.”
Jantjies said this year he felt more comfortable in the Bok set-up and was better used to the responsibility of becoming a Bok.
“The same goes for our wings in Courtnall and Raymond Rhule. Both of them have walked a long road in the Springbok camp without nailing down starting positions, and I think you can see they are ready to do that. They are taking the responsibility on their shoulders and embracing being Springbok finishers,” Jantjies said.
“Everybody knows we are looking to play with more width and while that is hopefully going to bring the wings more into the game, we have to be mindful that France know how we want to play, and are probably going to try and put the ball in behind us.
“We are going to have to be tighter on defence around the fringes of the rucks and we have to box clever after showing our hand last week.
“They are wiser about us and we are wiser about (how) we must play against them this week.” WESTERN PROVINCE Rugby Union president Thelo Wakefield says that the union takes the recent allegations of abuse of referees very seriously and that clubs or players who are found guilty of ill-discipline will be “dealt with strictly”.
On Tuesday, Wakefield, the WP Disciplinary Committee and the executive committee of referees met to find a solution to the reports of referee abuse on the WP club rugby scene, and Wakefield said that stricter bylaws will be implemented to minimise on-field ill-discipline by players, club management and officials and supporters.
“In recent times there’s been a whole range of infringements – from club officials being rude to referees, to eye gouging, to spitting and fighting during a match or afterwards, and the authority of the referee gets undermined.
“The referees feel threatened because they feel that their safety isn’t guaranteed. We don’t condone the fact that in the past few weeks, a referee was locked up in his change room for a few hours because the supporters of a certain club threatened him, and that led to the referees withdrawing themselves from matches. But not all clubs are guilty of this.”
Wakefield also said that there are some clubs that have complained about the behaviour of referees, and added that the excuse wasn’t valid as there are various structures that clubs can report to.
“The complaint of the clubs are that referees aren’t innocent, that they show up late and that they don’t officiate according to the rules.”
“But that’s no excuse, there are structures within the union, there’s the referees society and there are club rugby departments where they can raise their concerns. We decided to change the bylaws of the union to make it stricter and take it to the clubs for approval. We fear we might lose a referee. Last week I had to get three referees from another union so that a match could take place.”
And although WPRU were aware of the reported incidents, Wakefield said that some of these cases were never reported by referees, and the ones that were reported (in a post-match document) weren’t detailed enough. Wakefield also added that support would be offered to referees in order to make these reports as thorough as possible.
“A disciplinary committee member cannot suspend a players if the report isn’t thorough. We’ve offered to assist those referees who aren’t able to write a thorough report. And in a serious case, they have to report the incident immediately and get an affidavit the Monday,” Wakefield said.
According to Wakefield, 85 percent of reported cases took place during lower league games, and he added and an indaba would be hosted to educate clubs and players, while he also added that referees who are guilty of poor behaviour would be addressed.
“Every executive committee member of WP will address a group of 10 clubs (in regions), and we will request those clubs to attend a meeting where we will have an indaba on ill-discipline and foul play on the field.”
“Enough is enough. We are going to be stricter. We are going to put players away, we are going to put clubs away, and we are going to act against referees whose behaviour isn’t right on the field, whether they arrive to the field late, start a match to early, and so forth.”
“The referee society was happy with it, and I’ve submitted a letter to all the clubs, and I’ve requested them to cooperate. After Eid (after June 28), we will have a big indaba regarding foul play on the field and all the clubs have to come together and make suggestions.”