Jake White likens fallout from Rassie ref tweets to Kamp Staaldraad: 'Damage done to the brand'

Without explicitly naming him, Jake White believes Rassie Erasmus' controversial tweets on questionable refereeing during the Springboks' end-of-year tour to Europe have done as much damage to the national team's brand as the infamous events at Kamp Staaldraad almost 20 years ago.

There's been widespread unhappiness from local franchises about the potential impact SA Rugby's director of rugby's posts - which has earned him a second ban from World Rugby - will have when the teams try to navigate the different refereeing interpretations in the URC and European Champions and Challenge Cups, particularly when it comes to 50/50 calls.

Less tangibly, the Boks' reputation as a symbol of hope might now have transformed into a group of men with a perceived persecution complex.

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"There's no doubt that what's been happening behind the scenes is going to have an influence. It's normal," White, the man who revived the Boks in 2004 following the sordid revelations from the military-style bonding camp before the previous year's World Cup, said on Friday.

"I remember with Kamp Staaldraad, which happened just before I took over at the Springboks, how much damage was done to the brand. It takes a while before people see that brand differently again. 

"We've read it and digested it. It feels like every day now people are talking about off-field things [like how to handle refereeing] instead of the Boks being the world champions."

White has never made a secret of the fact that he also believes officiating at the highest level needs to be addressed, but intimated that Erasmus' strategy for bringing attention to the issue has been