England coach: Rassie ‘stunt’ wasn’t in the spirit of the game

SA Rugby and its Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus late last week sensationally withdrew their notices of appeal against the misconduct decision handed down by World Rugby in relation to the controversial officiating video he made after the first British & Irish Lions Test.

Mitigating the emotional strain on his family is reported to be just one of the reasons Rassie Erasmus opted to withdraw the appeal against his ban.

READ | RASSIE CASE: WHY APPEAL WAS ABANDONED

Jones is the latest high-profile coach to weigh in on the matter, suggesting he could have made a Rassie Erasmus-style video after England’s Six Nations defeat by Wales at the beginning of the year, but thought it would do longer-term damage to the sport.

“I could have made a long video of complaint like Rassie Erasmus did,” Jones wrote in his book Leadership. “In terms of leadership all international coaches could emulate Rassie’s stunt, but would that benefit the game? We would put more pressure on the officials and, as we saw, the refereeing got worse as the Lions series went on, to the benefit of South Africa.

“Rassie might feel his tactics were justified but you need to take a wider view for the sake of rugby. If I had gone down the Rassie Erasmus route we would have got so much more leeway from referees in the next couple of games because they would have felt under extreme pressure. But that’s not how I want the game to be run.”

Other reasons why Rassie withdrew appeal

Other factors are that Erasmus did not have to apologise personally to referee Nic Berry, who was at the centre of the officiating controversy following the first Test against the British & Irish Lions.

Erasmus’ two-month ban from all rugby also coincides with SA Rugby closing their offices for the festive season, while the Erasmus camp would have had no control over who World Rugby appointed as their appeal committee.

Ultimately, SA Rugby will take it as a win that they were able to get World Rugby’s far more severe recommendation of a 24-Test ban cut in half, and Erasmus will now concede to serving out the double ban.

After seeing out the two-month suspension, Erasmus will only be banned from all match-day activities until 30 September 2022, but can contribute in all the build-up plans and preparation.

READ | RASSIE TAKES TO TWITTER AGAIN… THIS TIME IN VERNACULAR

Meanwhile, the SA Rugby director of rugby took to social media on Sunday to confirm a documentary is currently in the works where he will “share my side of the story”.

The full tweet read: “So excited!! part of a documentary that we’re working on (I do have some time at hand) with Supersport I’ll be able to share my side of the story !! Thank you @SuperSportTV“