South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has come under fresh scrutiny after once again altering his entire starting front row just one hour before the Springboks' match against France, prompting renewed calls for World Rugby to clarify its regulations on team announcements.
The Springboks initially named Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw as their starting front-row combination for the clash, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Gerhard Steenekamp and Thomas du Toit listed among the replacements.
Shortly before kick-off, Erasmus made a complete switch, promoting Wessels, Steenekamp and du Toit into the starting XV and moving Nche, Marx and Louw to the bench.
Repeat of a Familiar Tactic
The move mirrored a tactic Erasmus employed during the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against New Zealand, when he also changed his entire front row shortly before kick-off.
On that occasion, he explained the decision was influenced by the weather forecast, with the Springboks believing a different front-row combination would be better suited to the conditions. It was thought at the time that the series was exempt from normal rules because it was arranged between the two unions rather than being an official World Rugby competition, such as the Nations Championship.
Erasmus and other coaches across the world have been warned that pulling the same trick at major competitions could land them in hot water.
World Rugby Regulations
World Rugby Regulation 15.1.2 states that participating unions must announce and exchange their starting XV and up to eight replacements 48 hours before kick-off in an international match.
The Rugby World Cup, for example, has strict regulations governing late team changes, with alterations to the named side restricted to specific circumstances, including genuine medical reasons.
World Rugby has the power to impose fines on any coach who makes late changes to their team and therefore breaches the contract agreed between the global governing body and the respective unions.
Calls for Clarification
With Erasmus repeating the tactic in the Nations Championship, there have been fresh calls for World Rugby to clarify exactly what is permitted and whether teams can make such changes to their starting line-ups so close to kick-off in the new competition.
World Rugby has yet to provide a specific clarification on the latest incident.
