Rassie being charged will fuel Bok fire

World Rugby - by charging SA Rugby and its Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus - with misconduct may well have given the Springboks all the motivation they need going into the third and deciding test in Cape Town on Saturday.

* Get DStv Premium to watch all British & Irish Lions action live *

The Springboks stormed back to win the second test 27-9 last Saturday and it was clear the Boks - and their forwards in particular - were motivated by the video released last week by Erasmus highlighting poor reffing decisions that dominated the lead-up to the test.

And now on the urging of Warren Gatland, and a very public call by former World Cup winning England coach Clive Woodward for World Rugby to “show him who is boss” in his column in the Daily Mail, the governing body has succumbed to the pressure and put Erasmus on trial.

“World Rugby must show Rassie Erasmus who is boss because enough is enough... his hour-long video was a character assassination and he should stay in the stands with other coaches rather than disguise as a humble water boy,” Woodward’s headline bellowed in the Daily Mail on Monday and sure enough, the governing body headed by former England captain Bill Beaumont followed suit.

But while those desperately seeking some form of punishment for a video highlighting the numerous mistakes of the referee Nic Berry and his disrespect towards Siya Kolisi in the game have been temporarily appeased, the charge may not be the perfect motivation the Boks need.

ERASMUS MEANS PLENTY FOR THIS BOK TEAM

As my colleague Gavin Rich pointed out on Monday, there is a misunderstanding on what Erasmus means to this current Springbok team. While they were being slammed by every part of the world rugby apparatus for their poor first test performance, there is a sense that Erasmus went out to fight for them.

That he took it on his shoulders and put his whole career on the line for them. The players responded with passion and emotion and a performance that was not pretty, but brutal in its execution. You’d have to be a fool to think they didn’t in part do it for Erasmus.

But more than that, the charge does more to increase the perception that there is one set of rules for the north and another for the south. That the Lions is a protected species and reverence needs to be paid to them when they are on tour.

After all, World Rugby did note that both teams had made unacceptable comments about the referee, but only one side is being charged. Whether you agree with Erasmus’ tactics or not, it shows that World Rugby are willing to come down hard on the status quo, and if there was any justice, Gatland would have been charged as well - albeit for a lesser offence - for his comments on the television match official Marius Jonker.

GATLAND GOES UNPUNISHED

There will be those who point out Gatland didn’t make them at a press conference. But the plethora of Gatland “fuming” articles that came out had the same effect. The travelling press corps didn’t suck this out of their thumb. Gatland’s comments the previous week on the yellow card for Faf de Klerk and the fuming articles had the desired effect in the build-up to the test match.

What World Rugby hasn’t done is sort out the refereeing inconsistencies that Erasmus highlighted? They haven’t looked at them at all. All they have done is send out a message that Erasmus needs to be punished because he put a very bright spotlight on the issue.

When all this dies down - a disciplinary hearing has not been set and is unlikely before the third test - nothing will change. World Rugby will continue to protect its referees at the cost of the game itself, it will not self-reflect and see the issues so glaring for everyone else in the game.

And the situation will replay itself, with coaches knowing now they cannot question a ref, no matter how bad the reffing is.

TREAT THE CAUSE, NOT THE SYMPTOMS

Instead of sorting out the cause, World Rugby has shown they are only interested in the symptoms. This can do nobody any good.

But back to the team. Lood de Jager on Monday made it clear that the second test was a “personal” one for each player. How do you think the players will respond when they hear Erasmus has been charged?

The personal aspect will add to the frustration, and where Gatland said he wondered if the emotion could fuel another performance, it now will be the best fuel for the Bok fire they need ahead of the test.

“Obviously, we were disappointed with what we brought as a bench in that first test. It may be a bit of game time together, it may be a bit of rustiness. But we don’t want to make any excuses,” De Jager said.

BOKS MADE SECOND TEST “PERSONAL”

“We disappointed ourselves, our coaches and the country. For us, not just the bench, but the starting line-up, coaches, management, everybody, we said we are going to make this personal. It’s about going out there and playing for your family, the people of this country, people that are less privileged than you.

“So for us, it was just to make it a bit more personal. I think that fired us up as a bench as well.”

De Jager added that the emotion would play a part but wouldn’t take away from the Bok performance this weekend. He was speaking before Erasmus was charged, but it made no difference.

“Firstly, it’s about understanding what it’s about. It’s about more than yourself,” De Jager said. “You are representing the whole country. Another thing is keeping each other accountable as players and coaches. That means coaches keeping players accountable and players keeping each other accountable, driving standards.

“Hopefully we can carry that same energy into this weekend’s deciding test match.”

The landscape has significantly changed since Erasmus’ video has leaked, and him being charged may satisfy those in the north. But it won’t do anything for the integrity of the game. It will muzzle and frustrate coaches around the world.

And it will simply make the next test personal for the Boks.