All Blacks coach blasts ‘disgusting’ abuse in wake of damning World Rugby report

All Blacks coach Jason Ryan has described the abuse that match officials receive on social media as “disgusting”.

His comments come in the wake of a World Rugby report which revealed the extent of the abuse during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Wayne Barnes received death threats following the final between New Zealand and South Africa, while Ben O’Keeffe also came under fire after the last-eight clash involving the Boks and hosts France.

According to the report, of the abuse aimed at individuals, Barnes received a third of it.

Needs to be dealt with

“What’s been happening with some of the messaging and threats that have been sent to referees [and] their families is disgusting. It’s something that needs to be cracked down on at the highest level,” Ryan told Newstalk ZB.

“When you get a guy like Wayne Barnes who is probably one of the most experienced referees in the world chuck the game in and maybe not even give back to it… it’s a sad state of affairs.

“The sooner something is done about it at the highest level, whether or not that through the law and criminal offences or World Rugby, it has to stop because it’s not good enough.”

Legal action is being taken against transgressors, with one person being charged in Australia and other prosecutions pending in South Africa, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

“It’s been constant, and some of the messages, I don’t want to repeat them… it’s just awful,” Ryan said.

“I don’t think those messages would be coming from genuine rugby people. People that are embraced in the game, that love rugby for what it is… these people aren’t those people. I’d be very surprised if they are, because the people involved in rugby, good people are running it and good people are involved in it.”

900 accounts monitored

Signify Group monitored 900 social media accounts during the tournament and also revealed the teams that were most targeted. England were the highest on the list, followed by Springboks, France and New Zealand.

But it is the scale of abuse that match officials receive that is of most concern, with them getting 49 per cent of all nasty messages.

Comments by players and coaches in post-match press conferences also triggered a rise in abuse towards referees.

That obviously raises a debate over how people within the game deal with discussing decisions and officiating performances, given the impact it can have on social media.

“If I’ve got an issue or want to chat to the referee, I’ll have a chat to the referee. I’ve never had a crack in public; I like to have a chat with the referee and work with the referee,” Ryan said.

“We’re working with each other around areas of the game, and I know there’s going to be some mistakes. I’ve had some good healthy conversations on the phone with referees, officials and the guys high above trying to sort things out. But when you do it publicly and have a real crack it can be a niggly one and fuel the flame.

“But on the same side of that, the referees and officials have got to be approachable. It’s got to work both ways so we can go in there and have a yarn.”

Improving communication

The next step is attempting to improve matters, not just in terms of reducing the number of trolls but also discussing how the sport itself can develop.

According to Ryan, communication between coaches and referees was limited during the World Cup, and the All Blacks forwards guru felt that was the wrong way to go.

“At the World Cup, it was no-go. We couldn’t talk to referees. Was it the right thing to do? I think on reflection, it could’ve been done a lot better.

“I understand in a World Cup there’s different pressure with different things on the line, but you should be able to ring up a coach or ring up a referee and say ‘can I just have a yarn about this?’

“It can’t go on all the time and cloud things, but there should be a cutoff point… but afterwards, why can’t we have a conversation about things so they’re more approachable? That’s all I’d say on that.”

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