Lions reply to Erasmus criticism by saluting match officials

By Associated Press 27 July 2021, 12:00AM

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — British and Irish Lions assistant coach Steve Tandy responded to South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus' criticism of a Mako Vunipola tackle in the first test by saying the tourists felt "the officials did a good job”.

Erasmus, who was head coach when the Springboks won the World Cup in 2019, took to Twitter after Saturday's game to call out reserve front-rower Vunipola for being “reckless and dangerous” in an incident involving Cheslin Kolbe during the 22-17 Lions win in Cape Town.

Tandy said he did not see anything wrong with the challenge and felt that social media was not the place to lodge complaints.

“It’s his view,” the Lions defense coach said. “We thought the officials did a good job and we’ll continue going through the proper channels. We’ve got to be careful about what we do and do our talking on the field.

“Rassie’s comments are his own. He has been coming out and saying bits and pieces, but every team has those moments.

“It’s a tough job and I know everyone moans around certain decisions. I know there’s obvious frustration that we get as coaches, but we need to control that because it’s a tough job and if we can keep it to the proper channels, that’s probably the best way because it’s tough for the players, tough for the coaches and tough for the referees too.”

England prop Vunipola defended his actions.

“What do I remember? I remember just trying to get the ball,” he said. “I saw he had gone down and it was done in the heat of the moment. He seemed alright. He played on for the rest of the match.

“I guess if he was really hurt, it was a bit reckless. But I felt the collision wasn’t that bad. We were behind at the time and we wanted some tempo. If I did hurt him, I apologize.”

Tandy said forward Wyn Jones, a late withdrawal from the first test due to a shoulder problem, was a doubt for the second match at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

Flyhalf Dan Biggar is expected to be in contention after being taken off due to concussion, while fellow number 10 Finn Russell, who was unavailable for the first game, is also set to return to training after recovering from an Achilles injury.

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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

By Associated Press 27 July 2021, 12:00AM
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