Oh, the drama on the rugby field never ceases, does it? World Rugby has finally chimed in on the Springboks’ eyebrow-raising kickoff strategy during their clash with Italy in the serene Port Elizabeth. The Boks kicked off their second Test with a cheeky short kick, where Andre Esterhuizen sprinted past teammate Manie Libbok, earning themselves a scrum right off the bat. Rassie Erasmus, the mastermind behind the ploy, later admitted that the whole idea was to kickstart the game with a set piece. However, the plan backfired spectacularly when Thomas du Toit got pinged for jumping the gun with an early shove.
World Rugby wasn’t just going to sit back and watch the Boks bend the kickoff rules. They’ve made it crystal clear that playing around with the kickoff laws will not get you a scrum, but a sterner slap on the wrist — a penalty. The big wigs cited Law 9.7(a), which is pretty straightforward: “a player must not intentionally infringe any law of the game.” Apparently, the Springboks’ kickoff caper was a textbook example of what not to do.
In their statement, World Rugby elaborated, “The actions seen in this example show an intentional violation of the kick-off and restart laws.” They pointed out that while Laws 12.5 and 12.6 cover unintentional mishaps at the kickoff, a deliberate flub like this one calls for the stricter enforcement of Law 9.7(a).
"The intention was to start the match with a set piece,"
Chiming in on the matter, former Test referee Nigel Owens didn’t mince his words either. He asserted that he would have awarded a penalty to Italy straight away, labeling the Bok’s tactic as a clear and deliberate infringement. It seems that the Springboks’ clever ruse was anything but subtle in the eyes of the officials.
Let this be a lesson to all: rugby is a game of brains and brawn, but there’s a fine line between being crafty and being craftily penalized. The Boks tried to play chess on a rugby field and ended up in checkmate, courtesy of the rulebook.