Coach refuses to be sent off

Reluctant Rassie stays put

At Newlands on Saturday, Rassie Erasmus, the Cheetahs' coach, was twice told to leave the playing enclosure and twice he refused. He led to an exchange of unpleasantries.

On 6 April this year SA Rugby sent out regulations governing the movement of team management and replacement players within the playing enclosure, to be applicable from 1 June. Team management inside the playing enclosure was to be confined to the technical area. On 18 May this year the IRB sent out its regulations governing the technical area which reinforced what SA Rugby had sent out.  On 11 July SA Rugby again sent out its regulations.

On Saturday at Newlands, Rassie Erasmus and his assistant Franco Smith were both within the playing enclosure. In fact the Cheetahs' encampment reached 17 people. From his position Erasmus was in radio contract with his people, three up on the stands and others within the playing enclosure. He also had large cards of various kinds by which he could flash instructions to his players.

At the press conference after the match, he was asked if Willem de Waal had not wasted opportunities in the first half by kicking for the corners instead of at goal. Rassie said that this may well have been the case but "it was on my instructions". The instructions are communicated by means of the cards which have handles and look a bit like those used to control movement at road crossings for schoolchildren. These control the activities of rugby players ion a rugby field.

Ben Theron is the Western Province person under whose jurisdiction the technical area falls. Twice in the first half he pointed out to Erasmus that he was wrongly positioned and twice he had André Watson, the manager of South African referees, to reinforce the request. Twice Erasmus refused, abruptly, to leave. He wanted to be shown the regulation.

The South African regulation, sent to unions, confines those in the technical; area to 6 - a team attendant,  two medically trained personnel, and three water carriers.

But there is a loophole. The IRB regulation requires the replacement bench and other management people to be located outside of the playing enclosure:

5] Personnel outside of the Technical Zone

a. The replacement bench and the location of the coaches should, wherever possible, be outside the playing enclosure.

b. If replacements require to warm up and there is not an area outside the playing enclosure, they may warm up in the opposition in-goal area but must not use balls in their warm up.

At Newlands the bench is inside the enclosure - outside of the technical area but inside the playing enclosure and that is where Erasmus stationed himself - along with others. He was not in the technical area. He had a loophole.

So the coach who was sent off stayed put.