Rugby Australia has slammed the bizarre social media activity from South African rirector of rugby Rassie Erasmus surrounding the performance of Nic Berry.
Berry, who took charge of the first Test between the Springboks and Lions last weekend, has found himself in the crosshairs of the World Cup-winning coach in the past week.
In truly bizarre scenes, Erasmus has posted a number of videos related to the officiating of Berry from his own Twitter, as well as interacting with an anonymous account called 'Jaco Johan' posting identically-edited videos also calling out refereeing decisions.
Then on Thursday, he released an hour-long video in which he launches an unprecedented and ugly attack on Berry - picking apart a host of decisions as well as the feedback process involving the Australian.
That led to a swift response from Rugby Australia, who labelled his actions 'unacceptable' in a statement on Friday.
"Rugby Australia has noted with dismay and concern the recent public commentary by South African Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus, regarding Australian referee Nic Berry and other match officials," the statement read.
"There is no place for abuse of match officials in Australian Rugby, with Rugby Australia committed to promoting a fair, safe and inclusive Rugby experience for all participants, officials and fans."
Rugby Australia CEO Andy Marinos confirmed that they have taken the issue up with World Rugby as they continue to support Berry.
“Match officials form the very fabric of our game – simply, the game would not exist without them. As a highly regarded and respected international referee appointed by World Rugby, the attack on Nic’s integrity, character and reputation is unacceptable," Marinos said.
“We have been in contact with World Rugby, under whose auspices this Test Series sit, and understand that they are actively reviewing this matter as some facts presented were not accurate.
"It is important to ensure public attacks of this nature are not tolerated. We will continue to provide support to Nic at this time, as both his physical and mental wellbeing remains a priority for us."
World Rugby released a statement on Thursday announcing they would look into the comments by Erasmus.
"World Rugby notes the comments made by Rassie Erasmus. The nature of these will be raised with the union via the usual official channels and no further comment will be made at this stage," they added.
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