Legendary referee Nigel Owens has defended Rassie Erasmus, saying the South Africa coach has done nothing wrong in the off-field drama surrounding the current Test series against New Zealand.
The series, branded Rugby's Greatest Rivalry, has been dominated by debate over Erasmus's actions, including tactical team changes announced days before kick-off and criticism of pre-match meetings with officials. Owens, who refereed the fixture about eight or nine times, says he understands the coaches' frustrations.
Coaches' meeting changes criticised
In recent weeks, South Africa's Erasmus and New Zealand's Dave Rennie have been critical of the new requirement for both head coaches to attend any meeting with officials. Erasmus has been particularly outspoken, claiming there is little point discussing anything with the referee if the opposition coach is also in the room. His argument is that those meetings were used to prepare referees about certain tactics or specifics of their game, but doing so is now pointless without giving away their gameplan to their opponents.
As a result, both coaches turned down the opportunity to meet with referees Matthew Carley and Angus Gardner ahead of the first and second Tests of the series.
Owens said he completely understands their frustration. "I don't really get why both coaches need to be in attendance, I thought it worked perfectly well as it was. There was nothing wrong with it," he said.
Mind games and the spirit of the game
Owens said those concerns that would otherwise be brought to the referee privately in those meetings are now being aired in the media ahead of games, which is less constructive. He said airing refereeing concerns publicly ahead of games only serves to create a narrative before a ball has even been kicked, and it can make an official's job even harder.
He also addressed accusations that Erasmus went against the spirit of the game for making several tactical alterations to his starting team ahead of kick-off, having announced it days earlier. "I can understand why such accusations have been made, but I don't agree with them myself. Ultimately, he didn't break any rules," Owens said.
While Erasmus could not get away with such a move at competitions like the Rugby World Cup or the Nations Championship, this Test series has been organised by the two teams and neither coach is bound by the normal rules that dictate sides must be named at least 48 hours before kick-off, with changes only allowed afterwards in the event of injuries.
Owens compared the situation to the Springboks' 'bomb squad' tactic, where they name a 6-2 or even 7-1 split on their replacements bench to allow them to bring on nearly a full fresh forward pack in the second half. That tactic has also been accused of going against the spirit of the game, with many arguing that it creates safety concerns. But again, it is within the laws of the game.
With the series now tied up, Owens said we want less of this off-field drama and focus on what promises to be a cracking final two showdowns on the field. "It could go either way - so let's see what happens," he said.
