{
  "id": 19950282,
  "title": "Rassie: Referee was ‘human’ in not giving Boks final scrum reward",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/rassie-referee-was-human-in-not-giving-boks-final-scrum-reward",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T08:12:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/rugby/rassie-erasmus-referee-piardi-human-springboks-france-scrum/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus criticized the referee for not rewarding his team for their dominance in scrums during their 21-19 defeat to France in Paris. Despite winning numerous scrum penalties in the final quarter, with the score at 21-14, referee Andrea Piardi intervened, warning the hosts and allowing them to collapse the next scrum. Erasmus argued that the referee was human and that South Africa should have understood this, urging the team to kick for a lineout or a penalty during a crucial stage. He referenced a similar incident in their match against the All Blacks, where a missed conversion by Manie Libbok led to their 33-16 loss. Erasmus emphasized that referees face immense pressure under large crowds and that teams must consider the referee's perspective when strategizing.",
  "summary": "Erasmus said the Springboks should have understood the referee would not continually penalise France's collapsed scrums in front of their home crowd.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}