Rassie Erasmus takes aim at World Rugby obsession after ‘exciting’ Six Nations clash while Nigel Owens also weighs in
Steve Borthwick’s side claimed a much-needed victory over Les Bleus following a last-minute triumph at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
Elliot Daly touched down and Fin Smith kicked the conversion as the Red Rose snatched a 26-25 success to end the visitors’ Grand Slam hopes.
While there were plenty of errors, particularly from the French, which led to a number of scrums, it proved to be a thrilling Six Nations encounter.
World Rugby’s target
World Rugby have looked at ways of speeding up the game over recent years, with reducing the number of set-pieces and increasing ball-in-play time seen as key in enticing more fans.
“There is not enough ball in play, too much senseless kicking, and we’re not promoting teams to attack,” Brett Robinson said after succeeding Sir Bill Beaumont as the governing body’s chairman.
They have introduced new laws, such as taking away the scrum option from a free-kick and bringing in shot clocks at the set-piece, which Robinson insisted has paid dividends.
“We have increased ball and play time by over three minutes by introducing some of those changes,” he added. “There’s still some things that are frustrating us, but that’s a massive improvement.”
However, Erasmus disagrees that they are necessary to improve the sport after watching the England v France clash on Saturday.
There were plenty of scrums, which reduced the ball-in-play time, as well as lots of kicking, but it did not detract from the spectacle, according to the Springboks head coach.
“Eng v France had 83 kicks in play, 15 scrums and only 36min BIP yet it was one of the more exciting games the 6 nations had in a while,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I don’t think the shape of the game can be judged always on stats!
“If you did not watch the game most will say those numbers(stats) won’t create excitement. Rugby is in a great shape at the moment in my opinion! Lekka.”
Nigel Owens’ view
It was a view which former Test official Nigel Owens very much agreed with. The Welshman looked to reward the attacking team when he was refereeing, which often allowed for a free-flowing contest, and he feels World Rugby are doing more harm than good by “tinkering” with the game.
“I agree. I’ve always said that high BIP time does not make a rugby game better as you have rightly pointed out,” Owens wrote in response to Erasmus’ social media post.
“Too much tinkering with the laws and an obsession to let the game flow at all costs will take away from the game not enhance it. The proof is in the pudding.”
