Warren Gatland has called on SA Rugby to rein in Rassie Erasmus in the wake of his controversial social media posts highlighting officiating inconsistencies.
In the aftermath of the clash between the Springboks and France, Erasmus posted a spate of videos of officiating discrepancies by match referee Wayne Barnes, and week after a similar post following a loss for the world champions to Ireland.
The World Cup-winning coach then responded to the outcry over his clips, asking those who disagreed with his social media content to stop following him.
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Writing in a column for the Telegraph, former Wales coach Gatland hit out at Erasmus for not following the channels put in place by World Rugby.
“We don’t see other directors of rugby or head coaches doing the same thing. I think it’s a little bit disappointing. There is a process in place for people to do reports after games and get feedback. And I would like to see Rassie follow that process.
“I can’t particularly see a defence there for what he’s doing. I don’t think it’s a great look for the game. The last thing we need is coaches taking this [social] media [approach] and making comments about the game.”
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Gatland coached the British & Irish Lions during last year’s series against the Springboks, during which Erasmus released an hour-long video questioning decisions made by the match officials in the first Test between the two sides.
The video earned Erasmus a lengthy ban from all rugby activities and matchday activities, the latter of which he only recently completed in September.
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“After every game, you pick out things and send in clips where you want clarification and that’s the process you go through,” wrote Gatland. “Referees, the good ones, will come back and put their hands up on calls they’ve got wrong and you accept that, because it’s human nature. We’re going to make mistakes, they can’t see everything, things are happening so quickly and you understand people aren’t going to see every situation.
“I just think as coaches and administrators, there is a process and we need to keep our counsel. You would like to think that someone will pull Erasmus aside, whether it’s someone from the South African Rugby Union or their CEO or there’s a phone call, to tell Rassie: ‘I don’t think you’re doing yourself any favours, or World Rugby any favours by putting these things out on social media’.”
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