‘We’ve learnt to accept decisions’ – Rassie Erasmus’ verdict on Lood de Jager’s red card
Lood de Jager and an inset of Angus Gardner issuing a red card.
Rassie Erasmus believes that Lood de Jager’s tackle on Thomas Ramos warranted a 20-minute red card, not a permanent one, but adds that the Springboks have learnt not to dwell on those decisions.
De Jager was given his marching orders in the 39th minute of South Africa’s 32-17 victory over France after he made shoulder-to-head contact with the Les Bleus full-back.
Referee Angus Gardner reviewed the tackle with his TMO and assistants, and instead of issuing a yellow card and sending the incident to be reviewed by the Foul Play Review Officer, he deemed that the Springboks lock’s actions were reckless and always illegal.
While Ramos was falling after being tackled by Cobus Reinach, and De Jager was incredibly low when he went into contact, Gardner deemed that his tuck shoulder and the direct contact to the head meant that it warranted a full sanction, meaning that the Springboks would play the remainder of the game with 14 men.
“The action is always illegal, it’s shoulder to head, a permanent red card,” the Australian official explained.
We’ve learnt to accept decisions
At the time of the sending off, South Africa trailed France 14-13 but would ultimately come out on top, scoring three tries in the final quarter to seal a 15-point victory.
Erasmus made some bold replacements, including one that spelt the end of captain Siya Kolisi’s 100th Test match for the Springboks, as the head coach wanted to get another lineout forward, Ruan Nortje, onto the pitch in the second half, which paid dividends.
“We’ve learned to accept decisions,” Erasmus said when asked about De Jager’s sending off.
“There were times when we would really think about them, and it would bother us for the next 10, 15 minutes, but we’ve now been together since 2018. We’ve learned that dwelling on something like that just gets you nowhere.
“Whether it was the right or the wrong call, we got a red card.
“I think it was a red card, but I don’t know if it was a permanent red or a 20-minute red. That’s probably debatable, but the fact of the matter is, we got a red in 2022 with Pieter-Steph du Toit, and we got a yellow for Deon Fourie, and it was also a very close game. So that game gave us experience.”
Siya Kolisi’s reaction
At half-time, Erasmus and his coaching team made the decision that needed a lineout general on the pitch following De Jager’s sending off and the team would be best served if he were to replace Kolisi.
“It was a tough call,” the Bok boss explained. “But when I told him, he just took it on the chin and understood.
“The whole team saw me say to Siya, ‘You’re not going to play the second half, we’re going to put Ruan on’ and the impact of that was enough, then the guys who go on know ‘Hey, our captain has played 100 games, is willing not to go on in the second half for the team to win.’
“Boan (Venter) also came off early in the match because he has to get used to the intensity of these matches, although I thought he went really well.
“I think the guys who started probably softened up the opposition, and then the bench could go and finish it. Even when Manie (Libbok) came on and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) went to full-back, I thought everybody had a good impact.
“That comes from the players understanding that it’s a 23-man effort, and the coaches made good plans, which made it easier for the players who came on from the bench.”
