Durban – The 2022 Rugby Championship will be known for its officiating difficulties, and although Australia has raised the issue with World Rugby, the Springboks, according to coach Jacques Nienaber, “believe the processes.”
A few weeks ago, Wallaby icon David Campese referred to modern Test rugby as “a joke” since the typical game contains four times as many penalties as it did in the 1980s and is over a half-hour longer due to constant stoppages for TMO deliberations.
The Wallabies were stunned by Frenchman Mathieu Raynal’s bizarre decision at the end of their encounter in Melbourne against the All Blacks. He penalized Bernard Foley for “time wasting,” and the All Blacks scored and won the game, 39-37, from the next possession.
A month ago, England head coach Eddie Jones chimed in on the topic and urged stakeholders to consider if the present product of stop-start rugby is what the public truly desires.
Nienaber was asked his thoughts at Tuesday’s news conference announcing his team, and he responded calmly, “We have faith in the officiating process. In the same way that coaches are receiving information about their players as the World Cup approaches, so too is World Rugby receiving information about their match referees.
The coach continued, “They are giving referees high-pressure games to test if they can manage it, so we simply trust the process.”
Speaking of TMO interruptions, Chris Hart, the same New Zealand TMO who made a meal out of so many stoppages last week in Buenos Aires, will be back on duty at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
The referee will be Australian Damon Murphy, while the touch judges will be Frank Murphy of Ireland and Andrea Piardi of Italy.
@MikeGreenaway67