England head coach Eddie Jones has shared his views about the controversial video in which Rassie Erasmus pointed out errors made by Australian referee Nic Berry during the first Test between the Springboks and British & Irish Lions.
READ: Rassie working on tell-all documentary
Erasmus was suspended from all rugby for two months in November and may not attend a rugby match at any level until 30 September next year after an independent committee deemed the video to have broken World Rugby’s code of conduct.
Speaking during a podcast of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, Jones said he has also learned the hard way that tackling referees in this manner will blow up in your face.
“I got into trouble in my younger days when I criticized a referee in 2007 after a Reds game. I was fined $ 10,000 and had $ 5,000 in legal fees. I had to pay for it myself. So it was an expensive story.
“It was not good for the game. You also set a bad example for your team. If a player concedes a penalty kick and shows resistance against the referee, it is very difficult to coach him in that facet. After that I decided not to say anything, something I maintained 99% of the time.
“We saw Rassie’s frustration and saw Dave Rennie (the Wallabies’ coach) explode. Every coach feels that way sometimes. We (England) had that Six Nations match against Wales where two tries were wrongly awarded. However, we can not afford to act in this way, because it will only make matters worse
“We have to simplify our use of technology and show respect for the referee, and be very strict with coaches who criticize referees.”
Jones added that he believes assistant referees should be more involved in helping to make the correct calls on the field.
“I think referees should work as a trio. If you have a maul on one side of the field, the assistant referee must do the policing there. The one on the other side must then police the sideline. If they work together as a trio, I believe that the standard will be much better,” he said.
