SOUTH AFRICAN coach Peter de Villiers requested a meeting with head of the IRB’s referee board, Paddy O’Brien, yesterday at the IRB headquarters in Dublin to discuss what he believes are areas of the game that are of great concern for his South African team.

De Villiers, who was accompanied by South Africa’s technical assistant Peter Maimane, is believed to have certain issues with the scrum in particular.

The South African coach, who has been outspoken about the fact that he has been unable to discuss refereeing problems with O’Brien, was granted the meeting after New Zealand boss Graham Henry met O’Brien last week.

It is understood Maimane brought video clips about refereeing issues that have perplexed the team over the last couple of years.

De Villiers also told reporters that his players were confused during their match against Saracens last week, when they were penalised for hitting scrums too quickly and then penalised again shortly afterwards for being too slow to engage.

It was de Villiers’ view that too many interpretations existed and the Springbok players were becoming frustrated because they were not been given clear explanations for the refereeing decisions.

The same issues were also a problem for them in their defeat with France in the opening Test match of the tour, where Wayne Barnes was the referee. Nigel Owen has been appointed for the Croke Park match on Saturday.

De Villiers’ anxiety comes just weeks after the world’s top international referees and referee managers met in London for the annual IRB High Performance Referee Conference. Headline topics of discussion included the area of reset and collapsed scrums at the elite level of the game.

International matches now average 18 scrums with an average of 18 collapsed or reset scrums. Average match time consumed by the scrum is currently 16 per cent and climbs as high as 25 per cent in some cases.

The IRB and IRFU have said that meeting with referees before Test matches is the norm. The Irish management have also said they will probably hold a meeting with Owens prior to the game on Friday evening.

According to the IRB, any team can request a meeting with O’Brien, who is currently in Ireland, where they can discuss refereeing trends. De Villiers’ complaints, which were made to South African journalists and the meeting reported in the Pretoria News, could be seen as awkward given the recent attention to clarify certain issues.

“The IRB’s High Performance Referees have agreed to be extra vigilant regarding the area of scrum resets and associated infringements at the elite level of the game where the issue is more prominent.

“The referees have been reminded of their obligation to penalise clear and obvious offences. Particular attention will be focused on frontrows adhering to the engagement sequence, observation of the mark and the correct binding techniques,” said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset at the London meeting.

In a volte-face of policy, the South African coach yesterday called Munster centre Jean de Villiers to his squad to face Ireland on Saturday. De Villiers, who joined the Irish club in September, has come into replace Adi Jacobs, who has been ruled out of Saturday’s Test due to an ankle injury.

It was originally strict policy that South African players at overseas clubs would rule themselves out of Springbok selection.

However, the controversial coach has seen his squad hit by injuries in the run up to their final Test match and as the Munster player is already in Ireland, he has been unexpectedly recalled.