Rassie Erasmus accuses All Blacks of breaching World Rugby protocols
- Here’s how much South Africa & New Zealand will make off their USA Test match - September 12, 2026
- Dave Rennie sends fresh referee message after Springboks ‘piggyback’ penalties - September 12, 2026
- South Africa v New Zealand: Where to watch, TV channel, Kick-off time & Team news for fourth Test - September 11, 2026
Not happy.
Rassie Erasmus has accused the All Blacks of breaching World Rugby protocols by publicly raising concerns over the Springboks’ scrummaging.
New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie first alleged in the build-up to Saturday’s second Test that the Springboks were illegally “walking around” at scrum time.
He repeated those concerns after the All Blacks’ 33-26 defeat in Cape Town, saying South Africa were able to “walk around and go straight through our tighthead”.
Erasmus angrily rejected the accusation after the match before returning to the subject at Monday’s Springbok team announcement.
The Bok boss argued that Rennie should have raised his concerns through World Rugby’s Analysis and Management System (AMS), rather than publicly presenting them through the media.
“My frustration was not so much that that’s his opinion, but one can’t make opinion facts and the moment it gets said as a fact, I mean, really, there are now clear protocols in play,” Erasmus said.
“You send five clips into AMS, which is a system, and there you raise your concerns.
“Now if I sit here and I tell you all the time that New Zealand cleaned from the side of a breakdown and the referees must look into that, then for me that’s not the protocol.
“You’re talking to the referees through the media, and I’ve been burned for that.”
Erasmus explained that the protocol also requires coaches to raise issues during a pre-match meeting involving the referee and their opposite number.
“The protocols are clearly in place,” he said.
“You must have a pre-match meeting with the referee with the other coach present, and that’s how you raise your things; you put them on the AMS system.”
Erasmus insisted South Africa also had concerns about elements of New Zealand’s play but had deliberately avoided detailing those complaints publicly.
“There’s a lot of things I want to get out about New Zealand, but I only have five clips I can send in post the match,” he added.
“So if I name another four here, it’s against the protocol because the protocol is sending through the AMS.
“So I can guarantee you we don’t want to put more pressure on the referees through the media.”
Despite his frustration, Erasmus maintained that he remained friendly with Rennie and understood what the All Blacks coach was attempting to achieve ahead of Saturday’s third Test in Johannesburg.
“I’m friends with him, but I understand what he’s trying to do,” Erasmus said.
