Rassie Erasmus: ‘Old school’ Joe Schmidt ‘putting pressure on referees’ with Springboks officiating claim
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus.
Rassie Erasmus believes that ‘old school’ Joe Schmidt is looking to put pressure on ‘players and referees’ ahead of Saturday’s clash.
The Wallabies boss claimed that the Springboks often get ‘a bit of luck’ with officiating calls, citing James Lowe’s disallowed try in the recent Ireland series as an example.
With Schmidt also casting doubt over the Boks ‘Bomb Squad’ under the new shot clock law trials, Australia’s head coach is potentially trying to stir the pot Erasmus-style.
Schmidt comments
“There was a bit of controversy with James Lowe’s try being disallowed. It’s not the first time for South Africa, they tend to get a bit of luck from that perspective,” the New Zealander told reporters on Sunday.
“They don’t need too much luck to fall their way, they make a lot of their own luck with the quality of player and the connectedness they have.
“They have guys who have played a lot of Test match footy together and that breeds confidence and almost an unspoken trust among players – they know what each other are going to do.
“They have an expectation of them doing it well and I think based on the way South Africa have played, they’ve done things well.”
Joe Schmidt: Springboks ‘tend to get a bit of luck’ with officiating decisions
Erasmus, who himself is not afraid of creating controversy, had his chance to respond after naming the Springboks side for the Wallabies clash.
Instead of fanning the flame, the Boks head coach played it down and is confident that referee Luke Pearce will not be influenced by Schmidt.
“I know Joe very well, he’s a real old-school coach. He’s disciplined,” Erasmus said.
“I believe he’s going to put pressure on the new players, on the old players, and on the referees. He’s a very good, hard-working coach, who knows what he wants.
“We all know that’s not true, that’s not the case with South Africa, and I think it’s not going to work with Luke Pearce.
“He’s an experienced referee, and he won’t fall for something like that, and we all know that it’s definitely not true that we get a rub of the green. I mean, Ireland won 17 games in a row. I think they got some green rub too!”
Rugby Championship match officials
De Allende on Wallabies
Schmidt has enjoyed a positive start to life as the Wallabies head coach, winning his opening three matches against Wales (twice) and Georgia.
He will know that it will get much harder in the Rugby Championship, particularly with them opening up against the defending world champions, but there are some good signs from Australia.
Boks centre Damian de Allende certainly expects a stern challenge from the hosts having watched them closely in 2024.
“I’ve obviously done a lot of analysis these past couple of weeks and I have watched quite a bit of their Super Rugby,” De Allende said. “The way the Australian sides have started to play, it’s been a bit more dynamic and a bit more free-flowing.
“They played very well against Wales. They managed the game quite nicely and we’ve come up with great plans to try and counter what they’re getting right.”
