Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has accused All Blacks counterpart Dave Rennie of bypassing official channels by airing his grievances about the Boks’ scrum technique in public. CLINTON VAN DER BERG reports.
Rennie had suggested after Saturday’s second Test in Cape Town that the Springboks were “walking around” opponents in the scrum, comments that sparked widespread debate among pundits and former players.
MORE: Rennie renews Bok scrum gripe
“My frustration wasn’t so much about his opinion, but when an opinion gets presented as fact,” Erasmus said in Johannesburg after naming his team for the third Test at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
“There are now clear protocols for this. You get five clips to send to World Rugby’s officiating system, and that’s where you raise your concerns.
“If I sat here and said New Zealand are cleaning out illegally at the breakdown and the referees must look into it, that’s not the protocol, that’s talking to referees through the media, and I’ve been burned for that before.
“Once you put a narrative like that out there, everybody starts focusing on it – all the media, all the podcasts, everyone starts analysing it – and a lot of people doing that analysis have no real knowledge of scrums.”
RASSIE: We’re not f**king walking around!
Erasmus added that while he wouldn’t call himself a scrum authority either, he trusts the methods of scrum coach Daan Human.
“We would never tell the team to walk around the opposition, that’s not our strength, that’s not how we do things.”
The Bok coach insisted he was not opposed to Rennie speaking his mind – “I’m not frustrated that Dave wants to get his point across, there are plenty of things I’d like to say about New Zealand too” – but pointed out the constraints coaches operate under.
“I only have five clips I can send in after a match, so naming other incidents publicly would go against the protocol, because that’s meant to go through the system. We don’t want to put more pressure on referees through the media.”
MALLETT: Rassie, Rennie ‘off-the-cuff’ jibes a distraction
Despite the friction, Erasmus stressed the disagreement was not personal.
“I’m friends with Dave, and I understand what he’s trying to do.”
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
The post Rassie fires back at Rennie appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has accused All Blacks counterpart Dave Rennie of bypassing official channels by airing his grievances about the Boks’ scrum technique in public.
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