Rassie doing more harm than good

Patriotism, they say, is the last refuge of scoundrels. It could be said that complaining about a sports referee – the “we wuz robbed” syndrome – is the last refuge of a failing team or coach.

That’s something Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus may want to mull over as he serves his two-match suspension for criticism of the officiating in the recent Bok matches against Ireland and France.

While it is certainly true that Erasmus raised a number of questionable decisions – especially by English referee Wayne Barnes in last week’s Test against France – doing so on the social media platform, Twitter, and in a sarcastic and disparaging tone, was probably not the best way to put the issue of poor refereeing on World Rugby’s agenda.

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To many, Erasmus – and by implication the Boks and South African rugby fans – looked like a petulant sore loser.

If we had demolished the Irish and the French on the field, we would not be having this debate. The Boks appear to have been at the receiving end of many bad decisions in the past few years, so the frustration felt by Erasmus and local fans is understandable.

The Twitter posts, though, may actually do the opposite of what Erasmus intends by galvanising the rest of the world against us … and make referees subconsciously inclined to see the bad. It is not easy for match officials, though, as rugby has become increasingly technical in recent years and one scrum alone, for example, will elicit multiple opinions about who was in the wrong.

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Perhaps it is time the international body looked at simplifying the rules. Perhaps the most worrying thing about the outburst from Erasmus is that it will discourage people from entering the world of refereeing – nobody wants to be abused for assisting the game they love.