Former Australia internationals Michael Hooper and Morgan Turinui expect World Rugby will initiate a "very serious" investigation into the "farcical" scenes which emerged during the Wallabies' triumph over South Africa.
Sunday's tumultuous Test encounter saw Les Kiss' team secure a statement 42-38 victory over a heavily rotated Springboks outfit in extraordinary circumstances, with the Perth hosts finishing the match with only 11 players on the pitch.
Farcical scenes in Perth
A remarkable final quarter-hour saw the Wallabies lose four players to the sin bin, as South Africa narrowed the gap from 25 points to just four in a dramatic fightback. That eventful finish was sparked by a peculiar incident on the touchline involving Springboks star Eben Etzebeth, with the lock temporarily departing the field with 67 minutes elapsed.
Earlier in the second period, head coach Rassie Erasmus had completely emptied his bench, leaving him with restricted options should another player require substitution. As Etzebeth stood on the touchline after being replaced by Franco Mostert, uncertainty arose over whether he was undergoing a head injury assessment (HIA) - which would have rendered his substitution by Mostert legitimate - or another injury, which wouldn't allow him to be replaced.
The lock forward eventually returned to the field of play, only to be substituted once more by Mostert towards the closing stages of the contest.
Accusations of gamesmanship
The episode led to Erasmus and his backroom staff being accused of gamesmanship and deliberately attempting to exploit the regulations - allegations which the Springboks head coach flatly denied during his post-match press conference.
However, having been thoroughly dismayed by the events that unfolded in Perth, both Hooper and Turinui expect World Rugby to treat the matter with the utmost seriousness to ensure a repeat is prevented.
Speaking on the Between Two Posts podcast, presenter Sean Maloney described the incident as "the trigger point" for the chaotic conclusion to the match, adding: "There's 67 minutes on the clock, Australia up by 25, and then this farcical scene plays out. Hoops, Morgs, run us through it."
Turinui and Hooper weigh in
Offering his assessment of events, Turinui said: "The context is previously, with over half an hour to go, Rassie empties his whole bench, all eight. I love the innovator that is Rassie Erasmus, I love that he tries things. But the other side of the sword to that is you run the risk of this exact thing happening.
"If you empty your bench, you can only replace front rowers if one of them gets injured, because you have to have a scrum. It's not one of those three positions, then it can only be because of HIA or blood. So, if one of your players breaks a leg, hurts a shoulder, whatever, you can't put anyone else back on for that person.
"That's why the inherent risk of putting all eight on at the same time sits there, and unfortunately for South Africa, that's what came to fruition."
"It looked like they either thought that Etzebeth had an HIA or tried to say there was an HIA, so they could make that replacement with Mostert going back on."
"I think in the end, Etzebeth said 'no, I'm not a HIA' so they couldn't do it. Whatever actually happened in and around who decided it was a HIA, what the miscommunication was, there will be a very serious investigation by World Rugby into this."
"If you risk it all with your eight bench and your player gets injured, you should be finishing that match at 14 men."
Hooper concurred, adding: "There were reports that the South African trainer had 'HIA' written down, so that means that a player needs to be removed from the field and complete the HIA assessment. But then it was, no he doesn't have a HIA and they were talking about the substitution.
"It was farcical, it was an absolute mess. I don't like the fact that - and we'll find out and that's the great thing about the investigation - if you're trying to bend the rules around safety, trying to use the HIA as a way to cover up a potential mishap with how you've rolled out the bench, I think that that's got to be looked into very seriously."
"I think this is probably going to be a bit of a line in the sand and the clarity needs to be shored up so this doesn't happen again and doesn't take away from the spectacle."
Erasmus denies wrongdoing
After the game, Erasmus rejected suggestions of attempting to manipulate the rules, stating: "Eben had a shot against the neck and I thought he was going for HIA. We don't control that from a coach's box, what he's going for."
"So when the doctor told me he got a knock against the neck, I thought he was going for HIA, and I think that's where the confusion is. I think he wasn't marked as HIA; he was marked as injured. Then, obviously, you can't put another player on."
"So there's also a learning there for the match officials, the fourth and fifth official, and for us, to understand," he added. "But he pulled through. He's a bit stiff and sore in the change room now, but luckily, I don't think there's big damage."
