Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Siya Kolisi are in favour of a former match official joining their technical staff to help with the complex laws of rugby.
Recently SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has been suspended twice by World Rugby for criticising referees and the Boks have narrowly lost Test matches because of tight decisions going against them.
The interpretation of refereeing laws in the southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere is different and has seen plenty of back and forth between the coaches and match officials. To combat this ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France later this year, as per City Press the Boks are reported to be keen on bringing in retired referee Nigel Owens.
During a press conference yesterday in Cape Town, Stick was asked about the prospects of Owens joining the world champions.
“The director is behind it,” said Stick.
“It will help us as the coaches so we can focus on making our team better because now we don’t want the game to be between the coaches and the match officials. We must respect the fact that rugby is about the players that are playing the game.
“We know that the refs are the CEOs, so if we can get someone on our side where they can advise and help us to prepare for the games, where the coaches can stay away from those off-the-field battles between the coaching staff and the match officials,” he said.
Kolisi echoed the same sentiments as Stick, saying the recruitment of a technical official would benefit the Boks.
“I think it will be great to get somebody that can help us, someone who works directly with World Rugby and come address us. It will keep us informed about the new rules and the way we speak to the referees,” Kolisi told the media.
“Every ref I have worked with on the field I always treat them with respect but it will also help with the language and how you speak to the ref also the coaches can focus on coaching and we can focus on playing,” he said.
Boks look to rope in refereeing laws expert to clarify rules
Kolisi, assistant coach Stick tip retired ref Owens for job
Image: Grant Pitcher
Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Siya Kolisi are in favour of a former match official joining their technical staff to help with the complex laws of rugby.
Recently SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has been suspended twice by World Rugby for criticising referees and the Boks have narrowly lost Test matches because of tight decisions going against them.
The interpretation of refereeing laws in the southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere is different and has seen plenty of back and forth between the coaches and match officials. To combat this ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France later this year, as per City Press the Boks are reported to be keen on bringing in retired referee Nigel Owens.
During a press conference yesterday in Cape Town, Stick was asked about the prospects of Owens joining the world champions.
“The director is behind it,” said Stick.
“It will help us as the coaches so we can focus on making our team better because now we don’t want the game to be between the coaches and the match officials. We must respect the fact that rugby is about the players that are playing the game.
“We know that the refs are the CEOs, so if we can get someone on our side where they can advise and help us to prepare for the games, where the coaches can stay away from those off-the-field battles between the coaching staff and the match officials,” he said.
Kolisi echoed the same sentiments as Stick, saying the recruitment of a technical official would benefit the Boks.
“I think it will be great to get somebody that can help us, someone who works directly with World Rugby and come address us. It will keep us informed about the new rules and the way we speak to the referees,” Kolisi told the media.
“Every ref I have worked with on the field I always treat them with respect but it will also help with the language and how you speak to the ref also the coaches can focus on coaching and we can focus on playing,” he said.
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