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Whatever happens on Saturday, when the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions clash in the third and final test, this series will be remembered most for what happened off the field.

Given that a Lions side only tours our shores once every 12 years, that is a pity.

SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby and ace waterboy Rassie Erasmus has been at the centre of the controversy, with World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, announcing that he would be charged with misconduct.

You could point to Rassie’s Twitter account for clues as to why, although it’s obviously the 63-minute video that was supposedly ‘leaked’ last week that is the real trigger.

In the video, Rassie pointed to 26 different incidents in the first test that referee Nic Berry, television match official (TMO) Marius Jonker, and their assistants got wrong.

It’s tough to argue with the evidence, but it’s also sad that it came to this:

In the Monday night announcement, World Rugby confirmed that both Erasmus and SA Rugby will face an independent misconduct hearing, centred on comments around the performance of officials during the first test.

If found guilty, the Director of Rugby could lose his position at World Rugby’s High-Performance 15s committee, and be suspended from coaching or administration roles.

It would be worse for SA Rugby, which could lose the right to apply for future major tournaments, including any Rugby World Cup tournaments.

The above would be sanctions that lean on the heavier side, while the most extreme sanctions available could see the cancellation of a result, the replaying of a match, or even suspension from future tournaments.

Ready the heavy artillery, because according to Sport24, a “reliable, high-ranking source close to the matter inside South African rugby’s controlling body” has confirmed that the Boks are set to fight fire with fire.

SA Rugby is set to defend itself and its director of rugby Rassie Erasmus against World Rugby’s misconduct charges [and] has consulted its internal judicial committee members to review World Rugby’s case against them…

“The organisation definitely intends to defend the charges, but they want to do so in the appropriate channels. But they will definitely defend it,” the source told Sport24 under strict conditions of anonymity.

“SA Rugby has got quite a strong internal judicial committee, but it’s unfortunate the situation has got here.”

SA Rugby is reported to be consulting with a Supreme Court judge, who is familiar with rugby matters, to scrutinise the case against Rassie and our governing body.

The same source is sticking to the story that Rassie didn’t want his 63-minute video to enter the public eye, implying that the leak could have come from outside of the Springbok structures.

Despite Rassie saying that he made the video of his own accord and was acting in his personal capacity, the fact that he was wearing a Springbok hat and jersey helped drag SA Rugby into the fray.

Part of SA Rugby’s defence is expected to focus on World Rugby’s past treatment of unions and individuals criticising refereeing performances:

Scottish Rugby was fined £70 000 and ordered to apologise after their chief executive Mark Dobson threatened to legally challenge World Rugby if their 2019 Rugby World Cup game failed to go ahead because of Typhoon Hagibis damage.

In 2011, then-Stade Francais director of rugby Michael Cheika was fined £17 500 for verbally abusing officials during and after the European Challenge Cup final defeat to Harlequins.

In 2007, England head coach Eddie Jones copped a A$10 000 fine from Sanzaar for criticising referee Matt Goddard during his time with the Queensland Reds.

You can bet a GoFundMe effort would raise whatever fine Rassie was held liable for in no time at all.

Thankfully, all of this will take place after the conclusion of the series, meaning we get to focus on the on-field action come Saturday.

Kyle Sinckler, who was cited for an alleged bite on Franco Mostert during the second test, was cleared of any wrongdoing, and will be in the matchday squad.

The Springboks have all the momentum heading into the match, and British & Irish Lions coach Warren Gatland has urged match official to address what he says are time-wasting tactics from the men in green in and gold.

One gets the feeling that no matter what happens in the third test, Rassie and Gatland may not be sharing too many beers after the whistle.

[source:sport24]