Springboks physio is criticised for reaction

FOOTAGE of South Africa’s physio running onto the pitch as the Springboks were attempting to crash over the English tryline has caused a stir on social media.

A number of high-profile players have taken issue with Springboks physio Rene Naylor’s exuberant actions, with a number of clips surfacing on Twitter.

One shows her roaring on her team from the sideline, and in one instance, actually running onto the pitch to celebrate while the ball is still in play and England are defending on their line.

Former Scarlets and Scotland back-row John Barclay expressed his confusion at her actions, while ex-Wales centre Jamie Roberts responded to the clips saying: “That’s berserk”.

Many viewers noted that the assistant referee chose not to take any action, even though Naylor was right beside him.

Of course, this is hardly the first incident involving South African management on the pitch.

A similar incident occurred during the recent Lions tour, when Naylor could again be seen a little too close to the action.

On that occasion, she was stood just behind the tryline, shouting at the players as the Lions tried to drive their way.

And, of course, there was Rassie Erasmus’s actions during both the Lions tour and this autumn. During the Lions tour, he acted as a waterboy, carrying messages onto the pitch - which caused controversy, although not as much as the hour-long rant against referee Nic Berry that saw him banned by World Rugby. You can read how he was found guilty on all charges here.

This autumn, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend criticised Erasmus for sledging one of his players from the touchline during their recent clash.

“I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, but someone showed me a video of him making comments about one of our players, a character assassination or sledging or whatever,” revealed Townsend.

“That’s not the role of coaches; it’s not the role of anybody on the sidelines.”