Springboks coach denies sideline skulduggery in shock defeat
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus denied there was any intention to mislead World Rugby’s officials during a confusing sequence of events featuring Eben Etzebeth in Perth on Sunday night.
Erasmus took the highly unusual step of using all eight of his substitutions at once in the 48th minute of Australia’s remarkable 42-38 victory at Optus Stadium.
Eben Etzebeth on the sidelines. Stan
That meant the world champions could only make a further change if a player was forced off the field for a head injury assessment or the blood replacement rule.
Etzebeth then left the field in the 65th minute with what was initially thought to be for a HIA.
But the star lock returned three minutes later after initially being challenged on the sidelines by a World Rugby medical staffer.
“Etzebeth is claiming that he’s got head pain and neck pain, and it’s a HIA. The medical is not accepting it,” Justin Harrison, the ex-boss of Australia’s players association, noted on Stan Sport.
“There’s a serious game of poker face and Oscar nominees going on here. Deadset town hall meeting at the moment. They brought him off initially for tactical and then realised, when he crossed the line, actually you can’t do that.
“So play with 14 or get him back on, a bit of magic spray.”
Erasmus, known for pushing the boundaries of the laws to their extremes, told reporters that there was no deliberate skulduggery.
“Well, he had a shot against the neck and I thought he was going for HIA. We don’t control that from a coach’s box, what he’s going for,” Erasmus said.
“So when the doctor told me he got a knock against the neck, I thought he was going for HIA, and I think that’s where the confusion is.
“I think he wasn’t marked as HIA; he was marked as injured. Then, obviously, you can’t put another player on. So there’s also a learning there for the match officials, the fourth and fifth official, and for us, to understand.
“But he pulled through. He’s a bit stiff and sore in the change room now, but luckily, I don’t think there’s big damage.”
The Wallabies only had 11 players on the field in the closing stages as referee Andrea Piardi sent four men to the naughty corner in extraordinary scenes.
Morgan Turinui weighed in on the Etzebeth incident on Stan Sport’s post-match coverage.
Eben Etzebeth on the sidelines. Stan
“When you empty the eight-man bench, this is the risk you run if you get an injury that’s not HIA or blood,” Turinui said.
“The Boks doctor … we thought he said HIA and now Etzebeth is trying to say ‘no, it’s a stinger.’ The great thing is the match day doctor called them on it. He should not have been able to go back on He’s been replaced. If it isn’t really an HIA or blood, he should have stayed off.
“That should have negated the replacement of (Franco) Mostert. They should have finished the game at 14. But for the integrity of the game, I’m glad they didn’t because it’s the Wallabies who have played with 11 and 12. They got back to their 15, and they got beaten by a better side tonight.”
The Wallabies will now prepare for the Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks at Auckland’s Eden Park on October 10.
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