World Rugby have always been known for their firm stance against referees being criticised or called out by coaches or players for perceived errors.
There are numerous times at post-match press conferences where Test coaches have openly admitted they won’t comment on a referee’s performance due to World Rugby’s stringent policies in this regard.
Of course, who can forget the infamous saga that played out when a video from Rassie Erasmus was leaked during the 2021 British & Irish Lions series, which led to the Springbok coach receiving a hefty ban for a referee review in which he harshly criticised the officiating in the first Test.
However, World Rugby have now bizarrely seemed to break their own rules by posting a video in which former referee Nigel Owens plainly states that there were errors made by officials in the recent Test between the Springboks and Wallabies in Cape Town.
In the clip, Owens is asked whether the Wallabies were ‘robbed’ after ‘cynical’ acts from the Springboks were missed at a crucial breakdown, and the former Test referee goes on to openly suggest the officials missed two clear infringements.
The comments section was immediately filled with outrage, with one user commenting: “Oh wow, World Rugby criticising their own officiating team. This is incredible. What must (referee) James Doleman think? How is this different to Rassie Erasmus’ infamous video?”
“Didn’t Rassie serve time for doing just this?” another added.
“This was in bad taste by World Rugby,” someone else commented. “Heads should roll. To ban Rassie for a year, but then go and shaft the ref in public yourself? Extreme hypocrisy.”
“Wow, shocking world rugby,” another added. “Ruining the sport with your ridiculous new rules. And now doing exactly what Rassie did ? Clowns. Disgraceful!”
And on and on it went as viewers reacted in absolute shock to such a video.
YOU CAN SEE THE POST FROM WORLD RUGBY BELOW:
WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THIS VIDEO?
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