Eddie Jones: Rassie Erasmus video rant was 'disrespectful'

Rassie Erasmus' video rant against referees could set a dangerous precedent for the grassroots game, says England head coach Eddie Jones.

The Springboks boss' hour-long critique of the match officials soured the recent series against the British and Irish Lions.

A disciplinary process against Erasmus is ongoing, although Jones feels action should have already been taken.

"It should be dealt with quickly," Jones told BBC Radio 5 Live.

He added: "We need to make sure that we have respect in the game because we are asking kids to be respectful to the referee, and if they see examples of players or coaches being disrespectful to the referee it gives them an excuse to do it at their level."

The Lions series against South Africa, won 2-1 by the world champions, was played in a defensive, attritional style, but Jones insists supporters shouldn't be too downhearted about the state of the game.

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"I thought it was a great contest, but it was all about the contest and there was no continuity in the game," Jones added.

"If there were crowds we might have remembered them as good contests, but because it was in front of no crowds it lacked a bit of emotion.

"The rugby wasn't fantastic, but that's Lions series' isn't it.

"We shouldn't get too despondent that we think the game is in the wrong direction. The game will bounce back. The one thing we know about rugby is that it is resilient."

Jones, who himself has been censured for comments made about referees in the past, believes there is an "appropriate way" to give feedback about officials.

But while critical of Erasmus' approach, he agrees there are problems in the way rugby union is currently being officiated.

"I think the game is in a good place but we have to be careful and I think there are some issues in the game we need to look at very carefully and I think one of them is the diligence of the referees to referee the important part of the game well," he said.

"Rassie made his famous video and I don't think that is correct, but we need to make sure the referees work as a three a lot harder than they do at the moment to ensure that particularly at the breakdown we get what we need to get, which is a fair contest between contest and continuity.

"But there is an appropriate way to do it, and that is being respectful to the referee."

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

Photo: BBC Sport