Peter de Villiers and his fellow Springbok coaches had a chance to iron out their differences with IRB Referees’ manager Paddy O’Brien when they met in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The Boks had been outwardly critical of the refereeing performances in both their recent home defeats in this year’s Tri Nations, while O’Brien had responded by hitting back at the way the Bok management were voicing their complaints.
It was the South Africans who had requested the meeting to discuss issues relating to interpretations and procedures and the management of the current laws by match officials, after O’Brien had been critical of comments de Villiers made in the media after the World Champions’ losses to New Zealand and Australia.
"We are glad we had the chance to meet," said Andy Marinos, South Africa’s manager of national teams.
"The meeting was held in a good spirit and we spoke openly about the issues."
O’Brien echoed those sentiments, suggesting that the meeting was beneficial for both parties.
"It was good to meet and discuss areas of concern and going forward we are now much clearer from both sides."
The Springboks and O’Brien agreed that there will be no further comment on the matter.
