Former Australia internationals Michael Hooper and Morgan Turinui expect World Rugby to launch a "very serious" investigation into the "farcical" scenes during the Wallabies' 42-38 victory over South Africa in Perth. The chaotic Test match ended with the hosts down to 11 players on the field.
Wallabies finish with 11 players
Sunday's match saw Les Kiss' side secure a statement win over a much-changed Springboks side in remarkable circumstances. An extraordinary final 15 minutes saw the Wallabies lose four players to the sin bin, as South Africa closed a 25-point deficit to just four in a dramatic comeback bid.
The eventful end to the game was kick-started by a bizarre incident on the sidelines involving Springboks star Eben Etzebeth, with the lock briefly leaving the field with 67 minutes on the clock. Earlier in the half, head coach Rassie Erasmus had completely cleared his bench, leaving him with limited options if another player needed replacing.
Confusion over HIA status
As Etzebeth stood on the sidelines after being replaced by Franco Mostert, there was confusion over whether he was undergoing a head injury assessment (HIA) - which would have made his replacement by Mostert legal - or another injury, which wouldn't allow for him to be replaced. The second row ultimately returned to the action but was then later replaced again by Mostert towards the end of the match.
The situation saw Erasmus and his coaching staff accused of gamesmanship and deliberately attempting to manipulate the rules - something which the Springboks boss denied in his post-match press conference.
Speaking on the Between Two Posts podcast, presenter Sean Maloney described the incident as "the trigger point" for the chaotic end 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
Giving his take on what happened, 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," he continued. "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."
Agreeing, Hooper added: "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," Hooper said.
Erasmus denies wrongdoing
Following the match, Erasmus denied trying to exploit the regulations, explaining: "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," he added. "So there's also a learning there for the match officials, the fourth and fifth official, and for us, to understand. 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."
