'He's trying to put pressure on referees externally... they don't need coaches doing what he is doing'
New Zealand boss Steve Hansen has accused South Africa counterpart Rassie Erasmus of trying to pressure referees into preferential treatment towards the Springboks.
Back-to-back reigning world champions New Zealand will launch the defence of the Webb Ellis Cup by taking on South Africa in Yokohama on Saturday.
Springboks head coach Erasmus this week insisted New Zealand have for years received soft officiating as referees entered matches with the “preconceived idea” that the All Blacks would win.
A frustrated Hansen offered a withering assessment of Erasmus’s comments, hoping that French official Jerome Garces will not be swayed by the Springbok influence.
“It’s pretty obvious what they are trying to do; whilst I have a lot of respect for South Africa and Rassie, I don’t agree with what he’s doing,” said Hansen.
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“He’s trying to put pressure on the referees externally, and they are under enough pressure already. They don’t need coaches to be doing what he’s doing.
“It doesn’t matter who is the ref, as a coach or as a team... you can always find things after a game that they didn’t do and you can get emotional about it and think they are taking it out on you and not the opposition. We’ve done it ourselves.
“But at the end of the day, they go out to do the best they can do. Yes, they don’t get it right all they time, and we have suffered from that. But it’s just like other teams. It’s a big game and we just need to let the referee get on with it.”
Asked if he would hope the World Cup officials are strong-willed enough to ignore any such influence, Hansen added: “Well, they are not stupid people at all, so you’d like to hope so. That’s all I can say about that really.”
Beauden Barrett will start at full-back for New Zealand’s Pool B opener against the in-form Springboks. The 28-year-old slots into the 15 shirt to accommodate attacking playmaker Richie Mo’unga at flyhalf, with stellar full-back Ben Smith taking a seat on the bench.
Ryan Crotty starts at inside centre with the back-to-back world champion All Blacks boasting three hugely-talented playmakers in their starting backline. Sonny Bill Williams takes a seat on the bench, with Anton Lienert-Brown partnering Crotty in the centres from the off.
Sevu Reece will make his World Cup debut on his fourth cap, with fellow wing George Bridge featuring in just his sixth Test match. Matt Todd has a sore shoulder, so Shannon Frizell steps up to take a seat on the bench.
Hansen backed star centre Williams to step off the bench and hand the All Blacks an extra dimension – just as he did in the 2015 final when New Zealand defeated Australia 34-17 to retain the crown they had lifted in 2011. “Sonny hasn’t played much over the last six weeks so he will give us something different off the bench. He will bring us something different.
“It’s a great opportunity that is similar to what he did in the final four years ago. I don’t think we have got a No1 starting XV, we have got a group of 23 players we will use depending on who we’re playing. We will chop and change, that was our point in selecting our 31. We wanted the ability to do different things with different people.”
- Press Association
WATCH: Neil Back reflects on England's 2003 triumph in the first episode of the new RugbyPass series, Rugby World Cup Memories
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You forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time.
Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
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