Sunday rugby headlines as team branded ‘a disgrace’, Rees-Zammit sizzles and World Cup-winning coach puts forward radical plan

Here are some of the rugby stories making the headlines for Sunday May 1

World Cup winning coach Rassie Erasmus has put forward three radical suggestions which he believes can rescue rugby.

The man who led South Africa to their 2019 triumph feels the sport "could be heading towards trouble" unless some fixes are brought in. The changes he advocates centre around refereeing, with Erasmus feeling the men in the middle need extra help.

But he maintains his ideas would 'simplify things' and make rugby a better spectacle for fans, TV viewers, players and coaches.

One of Erasmus' changes would be to have two referees in a game, arguing 'it is impossible to expect a referee to make between 800 and 850 decisions in one match. The game isn’t permitted to flow any more and you’re always going to end up with one team that is hacked off.'

He told the Mail : "The idea of two referees sounds radical and it has been tried, but it can work if done correctly. If it’s efficient and non-intrusive, it could make a massive difference around the tackle/breakdown area.

"The breakdown is so complicated for players, coaches, referees and fans alike. As a referee, you need five pairs of eyes to see what is going on — otherwise you are guessing.

"It is not unusual to have close to 200 tackle situations in a game. Each time, the referee has to think: did the tackler release the tackled player? Did the tackler get to his feet before the contest? Did the tackled player place the ball immediately? Did the arriving players come through the gate? Did the arriving player support their own bodyweight? It’s impossible!

"You can’t expect one referee to get everything right while also having peripheral vision across the pitch to see who is offside. We