Rassie Erasmus weighs in on ‘very tough call’ in British & Irish Lions Test but admits ‘everybody has to accept’ it

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has weighed in on the controversial end to the second Test match between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions.

The clear-out by Jac Morgan on Carlo Tizzano has caused much debate in the rugby fraternity, with head coaches Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell offering polarising views on the final decision, with referee Andrea Piardi deeming the action to be legal and allowing Hugo Keenan’s try to stand.

Speaking from the Springboks‘ training camp ahead of the Rugby Championship, Erasmus offered his view on the decision and sympathised with the two coaches.

“I had Australia by four points”

The Wallabies are first on South Africa’s agenda in their title defence, and the Bok coaches watched on with interest not only for what is to come but also as a part of an internal prediction pool.

The late decision impacted Erasmus’ prediction as the Bok boss called a four-point Wallabies victory.

“Internally, the coaches had some scores between us and it varied between Australia winning and the others said the Lions would win,” he said.

“So, for us, it wasn’t really a surprise, and we think the third test match will be just as close.

“I had Australia by four points in the game, my score was 27-23, so I lost our internal one on that one.”

“That was a tough decision, and World Rugby came out and said it was the right decision.

“I know that it is a very tough call for the referee to make there, and if I were Joe, I would be really disappointed, and if I were Andy, I’d be really happy.

“So, for me to make a call here, I don’t go through those emotions, but some guys clearly play on. I think it was touch and go, I can understand both sides of it and what both coaches see.

“But World Rugby has ruled on it; that’s what everybody has to accept.”

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Improved Wallabies performance

Australia produced a much-improved performance in the second Test and led for most of the match, stretching out to a 23-5 lead at one point.

The Springboks coaching team expected the Wallabies to be more competitive in the second match, having no bearing on their team selections going forward, according to Erasmus.

“The first four matches we played this year was never going to be as tough as the Rugby Championship- I’m not saying in anyway that Italy and those guys weren’t going to bring it physically – but I just think where we are compared to them in terms of developing or playing as a team, we’ve been together for for quite a while,” he explained.

“We knew what we were getting physically against those guys, but it will now go against teams that were really physical, have a good game plan, really, really good coaches like Gonzalo Quesada.

“But now, we play against a team that has played three games against the British and Irish Lions, so they will be used to that intensity.

“We know the way they play, Joe Schmidt is a great coach, we know the players pretty well, and so it wasn’t a surprise for us.

“It doesn’t influence our team selection. We also thought that they were going to be as tough as they were against the Lions last weekend.

“They have an opportunity to try to achieve that this weekend, so we are expecting tough battles against them, as well as New Zealand and Argentina.”

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