Daan Human hits back at the row
The scrum has become the flashpoint in this series. South Africa forwards coach Daan Human stepped in today to answer Dave Rennie’s accusations. The All Blacks boss has accused the Springboks of “sneaking around” the scrum to gain an edge.
“We try 100% to do it within the rules. That’s how we were brought up. I can never cheat or tell the players to sneak around. We never work that way,” Human told reporters. He added that the aim is “legal, clean dominance”.
The strongest part of his defence is the timeline. Human has worked with the Boks for six years. “If you say we’re sneaking around, then we’ve been sneaking around for six years,” he said. A neat way of throwing the claim back at its late arrival.
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Three Tests, three different referees
The wider context gives the spat some bite. South Africa dominated the scrum for an hour in the first Test at Ellis Park. The balance shifted sharply last Saturday at DHL Stadium. Between the two games, the whistle has changed hands.
Matthew Carley was in charge of the first Test, Angus Gardner the second. Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli will take the whistle for the third, next Saturday in Johannesburg. Three officials, three possible readings of the same contest.
Human refused to get dragged into the refereeing row, unlike some other South African voices in recent days. “I thought Angus Gardner was very consistent with his decisions on Saturday. What he gave against us, he gave against them,” he said, before shutting the door on the subject.
Pressure shifting onto the officials
This war of words has a predictable effect. It puts the referee at the centre of the decisive weekend before kick-off has even happened. Amashukeli will arrive in Johannesburg with both camps poring over the scrum.
“We’ll have to adapt to the way the new referee sees things,” Human concluded. Rassie Erasmus had already brushed off Rennie’s accusations earlier in the week. The stage is set.
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