Two letters in one week, and neither was made public.

The second Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, played on Saturday at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town and won 33-26 by South Africa, was preceded by an exchange of approaches to World Rugby, one from each side. The two unions had written separately during the week, on two different subjects.

The scrum, from New Zealand

Dave Rennie confirmed this week that New Zealand had queried several scrum issues with World Rugby after the first Test. The scoreboard does not tell the story of that area: despite their win, the All Blacks struggled there and conceded several penalties.

“We struggled to go forward, so we need to be a lot better in that area,” the head coach admitted, also pointing to his side’s ill-discipline early in the game. The Springboks were nevertheless penalised in the second half for not scrummaging straight.

The tackle, from South Africa

In the other direction, South Africa raised concerns about the so-called “seatbelt” tackles used by the All Blacks to rip the ball, with the risk of high tackles, head contact and neck twisting. Neither approach has been the subject of an official statement from the governing body.

What the former referee says

On Whistle Watch, Nigel Owens backed the two yellow cards shown to the Springboks at Ellis Park, which he described as cynical. Marco van Staden was sanctioned for an offside tackle on Cam Roigard, Cobus Reinach for a deliberate knock-on, with South Africa trailing 26-16. The All Blacks scored their fifth try while the Boks were down to thirteen.

“They’re giving scrum-halves a bit more protection now,” the former Welsh referee explained about the first sanction.

Five years on from the Erasmus video

The contrast with 2021 is striking. Back then, Rassie Erasmus was banned from all rugby activity for two months after releasing a sixty-two-minute video analysing Nic Berry’s refereeing in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, lost 22-17.

Since then, World Rugby has introduced a new process to protect match officials and tightened the rules on how coaches can raise their observations. This week’s two approaches fit that framework: they are dealt with by letter, not online.

The match gave a different answer

On the pitch, South Africa won 33-26 to level the series at 1-1. Rassie Erasmus was without Handre Pollard, who hurt his calf in training on Wednesday and was replaced by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, and Dave Rennie was without the concussed Josh Lord. Cheslin Kolbe, recalled to the squad the day before, kicked 18 points.

Both approaches remain pending: neither World Rugby nor the two unions have announced any follow-up. The last two Tests are scheduled for 5 and 12 September.