Rassie Erasmus was the picture of innocence as he watched Ireland defeat the Springboks 19-16 at Aviva Stadium on Saturday. However, it did not take long for the SA director of rugby to take an aim at referee Nika Amashukeli, who had a night to forget.
Erasmus enjoyed his first match back on a rugby field after serving his ban for criticizing Australian referee Nic Berry in a video during the first Test between the Boks and British & Irish Lions last year.
It was also his 50th birthday, although celebrations would have been subdued due to his team’s poor goal-kicking and inconsistent officiating, which led to a loss.
With this in mind, Erasmus began using social media. After complimenting the Irish crowd for the fantastic atmosphere and applauding their knowledge of the game, he stated that the match was determined by “tiny margins” and pointed to a video clip demonstrating inconsistency with an emoji finger.
Tough test match, thanks for all the support from, and also thanks to the Ireland fans at the Aviva, you certainly understand the game, and it was amazing to play in such an atmosphere yesterday! Undoubtedly, it was a game of epic fights, but with razor-thin margins. pic.twitter.com/Jcjci2Jlvo
— Rassie Erasmus (@RassieRugby) November 6, 2022
Initially, Erasmus displays the buildup to Ireland’s second try, in which it looks that the ball is kicked out of a South African breakdown by an Irish player, but play was allowed to continue before wing Mack Hansen scored.
Then, he shows the ball being kicked out of an Ireland breakdown and the Boks receiving a penalty just as Eben Etzebeth receives the ball and charges upfield. The Boks were about to score, but the referee stopped the game.
There is no doubt that the young Georgian referee made numerous errors that day, and the Boks appeared to suffer the most from his decisions, given both Irish tries involved forward passes.
It is also reassuring for Boks fans to see that Erasmus’s mischief-making has not been extinguished by his World Rugby suspension.