The Springboks have been working hard on respecting the referees. Picture: REUTERS, Gonzalo Fuentes
Showing respect to the referees even if a decision is wrong has been a big focus point for the Springboks in getting back in the good books of World Rugby and match officials.
And not disputing contentious calls on the field, or trying to influence referees by constantly being in their ear, seems to be paying off in a good way for the Boks in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
South Africa qualified for the semi-finals against England on Saturday (kick-off 9pm), after winning a pulsating quarter-final clash against host nation France 29-28 with some mammoth defending in the dying moments on Sunday in Paris.
Their discipline during that time, when France attacked and a penalty could've given them a sniff at three points, held firm as a stripped ball in a tackle for a turnover sealed the game.
Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby's Director of Rugby, said yesterday they changed their whole approach regarding match officials.
Reaction from Paris: “We worked together as a team and we talked a lot about never giving up” - more here: https://t.co/XiNQExkD1i 👍#StrongerTogether #Springboks #RWC2023 #FRAvRSA pic.twitter.com/mK4VIjBN4p
— Springboks (@Springboks) October 15, 2023
The Boks conceded only six penalties against the French, and one contentious yellow card – their first of the tournament – to star lock Eben Etzebeth.
"Since we've changed our way, no matter if we are correct and the referees are wrong, respect must always be shown," said Erasmus.
"Our whole motto has been let's respect the referees. It works both ways. He's going to make mistakes, we're going to make mistakes.
“The frustration we had in the past, and the lack of communication because of various things with Covid ... that is in the past. There's a nice protocol in place, it's easy to communicate with them."
The French team, on the other hand, criticised New Zealand ref Ben O'Keeffe after the loss.
Antoine Dupont, France's captain, was not happy with his officiating saying, "I don't think the refereeing was up to the challenge" during his post-match press conference.
The Springboks refused to be drawn into the conversation with Siya Kolisi saying at his press conference that he was happy with the officiating. Erasmus yesterday also refrained from commenting on the home side's words about O'Keeffe.
"I wouldn't like to comment on what they (France) said about the referee. We are just working on accepting that there will be mistakes on both sides, which is something that we had to get right and we had to earn the respect back and I think it's slowly happening.
"We are very happy with the win because a one-point game could've gone either way. If they won, they would've deserved it. It was two teams who tried to push each other tactically, physically and mentally to the edge.
"So, it's a relief to beat a well-coached team by a humble coach with whom I had a beer afterwards.
"It was lekker but now it's on to the next game."
The Boks head into a short week of preparation for the big battle against the English.
The sides met in the World Cup finals in Japan (2019) and in 2007 in Paris with South Africa winning both games. But England ran the All Blacks ragged in the semis in 2019 and will be a dangerous side come Saturday.
They are also the last hope of the Northern Hemisphere in terms of winning the title. According to Erasmus, they will have their work cut out for them this weekend.
The Boks will announce the team playing on Saturday internally today but the world will only know on Thursday what head coach Jacques Nienaber and his management cooked up.
"We will train as hard as we can. We will analyse as hard as we can. We respect the opposition as much as we can.
“The other talks on the outside are other people's reality (of the England team).
"We are intact with the real reality and it will be a tough Test against a team that hasn't lost a game. We know what we are in for and we know we are in for a big game."
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