Erasmus’ blunderbuss blasts all moving targets
The “Jonker Wars” have spilled over from the First Test between the Lions and South Africa and are now threatening to damage the entire series. What is more, World Rugby, the governing body of the global game, has only itself to blame for kicking off the conflict.
The hostilities started last week, with World Rugby’s flawed appointment of a ‘home’ TMO, Marius Jonker, as a replacement for the three Test series after withdrawal of the Kiwi Brendon Pickerill. The appointment, which went against the protocol of neutral officials for international matches established since 1993, was criticised by Lions coach Warren Gatland, and his forwards coach, Robin McBryde.
World Rugby’s decision has backfired badly. With the Lions winning the opener, 22-17, and Jonker having to make three crucial calls on Springbok touchdowns – in my view correctly ruling out two of them – it was the turn of South Africa’s director of rugby, Rassie Erasmus, to cry foul.
Erasmus, who had already raised eyebrows by having himself delegated as a water boy/on-field coach, then became embroiled in a farcical sideshow as he accused the match officials of a lack of respect and even-handedness towards the world champions, both during and after the match.
Erasmus was also smarting at what he thought was Gatland stealing a march in influencing the Australian referee Nic Berry, and, of course, Jonker, as well as his assistant referees Ben O’Keeffe (NZ) and Mathieu Raynal (France), to treat the Lions favourably.
As a consequence, Erasmus was on a mission to redress what he believed was a glaring imbalance. The only problem was that he became snared in a web of his own making as he retweeted clips of Lions infringements from a social media rugby analyst by the name of Jaco Johan – although it was soon doing the rounds that it was his own ‘burner’ account.
The row then intensified, and no sooner had Erasmus denied that he was Johan than he produced an hourlong video in which he selected 26 clips of incidents in which he claimed Berry’s rulings favoured the Lions over the Springboks.
The rationale that Erasmus gave for taking to social media goes to the heart of the over-complex, overblown relationship that World Rugby has allowed to develop between international coaches and referees.
Erasmus claimed he was deeply frustrated due to a sub-plot involving the briefing system between match officials and coaches. He said that the 20 minute briefing he had with Berry before the First Test left him with questions over interpretations after the match. He requested a 20 minute call with Berry the following day, who said he could only talk after he had spoken to referees’ manager, Joel Jutge.
The South African director of rugby said he was then informed by World Rugby that he would get feedback on Tuesday – which he complained about bitterly because it impacted on his
preparation and selection for the Second Test.
This begs the question, why are these briefings between referees and coaches happening in the first place? It is absurd that Erasmus felt he had to wait for “clarification” from a referee before South Africa could pick and prepare for the Second Test.
What this series has revealed clearly is that all too often these sessions have become a forum in which coaches attempt to influence and put pressure on match officials.
It is why the briefings should be shut down by World Rugby. The Laws are there for anyone to read, and if coaches need clarification on the individual interpretations or habits of different referees there is plenty of footage available for them to watch, and inform themselves and their players.
The best way to reduce pressure on international match officials is for there to be no match-based contact between referees and coaches before or after Tests, but a system in which both coaches can submit observations and questions to be answered after a series or tournament is over.
The most glaring question at the end of this Covid-hit Lions tour has to be how on earth World Rugby managed to put Marius Jonker in such a desperate, invidious no-win position?
By ignoring the importance of neutrality they turned the South African TMO into a target to be shot at by whichever side loses the series. Having been accused of being pressured to lean towards the Lions in the First Test, he has been given the almost impossible task of keeping his equilibrium and integrity intact for the remainder of the series.
On the subject of integrity, Erasmus also made the serious allegation that the Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was not shown the same level of respect by the match officials given to his Lions counterpart, Alun Wyn Jones. He accused them of ignoring Kolisi when he pointed out that Makazole Mapimpi had been impeded by Elliot Daly. Later when Kolisi’s request for a penalty after a rip turnover by Maro Itoje was light-heartedly refused by Berry, Erasmus commented: “It’s almost like he’s having a laugh at Siya. It’s comical the way the respect from the assistant referees and refs is different between the Lions and South Africa.”
These are cheap shots, unless a ref having a different opinion has suddenly become disrespectful. Erasmus has earned a great deal of respect for his resurrection of the Springboks as a great rugby power following their 2019 World Cup triumph, but unfortunately what was comical here was that the vast majority of the clips were debatable, and the Lions could just as easily have assembled a similar volume of them showing South African infractions that they could claim went unpunished.
What this episode has shown is a national hero – which is what Erasmus has become since 2019 – who is under severe pressure. He knows that the South African media, and public, is more ruthless than any in cutting down any figure, however elevated, if they fail to meet the expectation of their team being the world’s best.
“What this episode has shown is a national hero under severe pressure”