By Lucky Vince Pienaar
A problem for those sullen old men at World Rugby is that they can’t tie Rassie Erasmus down.
The more they tinker with the rules to limit his options, the more he comes up with other options.
It’s like a mismatched boxing match.
In the one corner, Bill Beaumont, the lord and master of World Rugby. Never was the nickname of “Bulldog” more appropriate. Sir William Blackledge Beaumont didn’t acquire that bulldog look as he aged – he had that glowering, stooped look even when he was still a player.
In the other corner, Johan Erasmus, popularly known as Rassie. Even as a player, Rassie was already known for his inventiveness. He assisted coaches in analysing games and coming up with winning strategies.
Said former Springbok coach Nick Mallett: “He was not the fastest or the strongest, but he could read the game, creating many opportunities.”
Beaumont runs World Rugby in a school-masterly way. He treats coaches and commentators as if they were schoolboys, showing scant respect for what they have achieved and the knowledge they have as a group.
Every time people who are deeply knowledgeable about rugby come up with new ideas he dismisses their suggestions with a “Master Billy knows best” attitude.
For instance, a great many people in rugby have spoken out against the red-card system and the television match official but World Rugby has not even offered to discuss it with them.
Now the latest “innovation” is to reduce the emphasis on scrums ‘in the interests of making the game more free-flowing”.
One of the proposed rule changes is a classic example. Preventing a team from taking another scrum after getting a free kick is an example of their ignorant ham-fistedness. It is clumsy at best and sneaky at worst.
The rule allows for a weaker scrumming team to deliberately concede a free kick and avoid a scrum. Did Beaumont and World Rugby think this through? Either it’s just a dumb idea or a blunt attempt to disempower the scrum – and the Springbok scrum specifically.
But the one guy who is still smiling is Rassie Erasmus. He is so far ahead of the game, it’s embarrassing.
He has already said that he is not worried about the rule changes and his coaching staff and squad changes show that.
Bringing Tony Brown into the coaching setup is masterful. As a player, he was an exceptional flyhalf, and as a coach, half the rugby world, including All-Black Scott Robertson, was trying to sign him.
Retired referee Jaco Peyper is on the technical staff to advise on refereeing issues. How clever is that?!
Rassie is still smiling – more brightly every day.
Pictured above: Rassie Erasmus.
Image source: File
