THE WHITE WAY
England use ‘proper’ channels says Matt
SCRUM coach Matt Proudfoot insists England are whiter than white in their dealings with officials.
His comments come in the wake of the furore surrounding his former boss, South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, who will not be at Twickenham to watch England host the Springboks on Saturday.
Erasmus was slapped with a twogame suspension for his latest Twitter tirade attacking English referee Wayne Barnes after the Boks’ 30-26 defeat to France recently.
Springbok legend John Smit claimed Erasmus had damaged the image of the Springboks with his rants but Proudfoot claims England deal with officials through proper channels instead of sounding off on social media.
Proudfoot, born in South Africa, worked for Erasmus’ Boks helping them land the 2019 World Cup before joining England and said the national team should be a beacon of light to the country.
“I think the brand of the Springboks is a brand designed to bring hope to the country,” said Proudfoot.
“And that’s what it’s designed to do. I think as South African custodians that’s what the role is, it’s to preserve the brand of the Springbok because in a country where rugby is as feverish as it is there, that’s what that brand is designed to do.
“When I lived in South Africa I was a proud South Africa supporter, and I think that’s what the brand of the Springbok means, and that’s what it should be.”
Proudfoot revealed England send any clips of queries to World Rugby’s head of officials Joel Jutge on the Sunday after a game and get responses on Monday morning.
He added: “There’s a clear line of communication if you want to deal with something that you want clarification on and particularly in a week that you can give it to your players and train it. World Rugby has been great in the way it has communicated to us. We’ve got a process that we follow. It’s really constructive.”
Erasmus was given a year’s suspension after criticising referee Nic Berry during the 2021 British & Irish Lions series and only returned this autumn.
But Proudfoot insists head coach Jacques Nienaber is too shrewd to let the current fuss affect his squad.
“Jacques is a smooth operator, a very intelligent man, works incredibly hard, their captaincy roles and their leadership roles are very clearly defined,” said Proudfoot.
“So for them it’s just outside noise, it doesn’t affect them.
Meanwhile, Jack Willis, a replacement against New Zealand last week, has been left out of England’s 26-man squad for Saturday. Manu Tuilagi is set to win his 50th England cap.