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Boks to seek clarity from Poite

Durban - The Springboks are confused with some of the scrummaging calls that were made in their 37-25 loss to Argentina on Saturday and they will be seeking clarity from referee Romain Poite. 

The Frenchman was clearly unhappy with the Bok scrum, penalising them throughout the match with Vincent Koch in particular feeling Poite's wrath. 

Captain Jean de Villiers said after the match that he didn't understand some of the calls, and scrum coach Pieter de Villiers confirmed on Monday that the Boks would be taking the necessary channels to seek answers from Poite. 

"It certainly was a frustrating day. I don’t want this to sound like excuses, but we certainly want to get back to Romain Poite and just get some feedback and some clarity on some of the calls on Saturday," De Villiers said. 

"I’ve obviously been through those scrums many times by now and some of them I don’t understand. Not one of our scrums went to completion so it’s difficult to get a technical adjustment or a technical note on the scrummaging.

"I actually thought that Vincent Koch did quite well in that first scrum and from there it seemed like Romain had a picture in his mind and it was us on the wrong side and some calls went against us."

De Villiers also paid tribute to Koch's opposite number, Marcos Ayerza, but questioned the legality of the tighthead's binding.

"He (Koch) played against a very good prop in Ayerza who is very experienced and plays in the northern hemisphere where scrum manipulation is a fine and dark art and he’s very good with that," said De Villiers.

"But is he is always on the right side of the law... it’s debatable and we will take that further. I think sometimes he does come in and he sometimes loses his bind.

"Vincent is very keen to have another crack. It’s the first time that Vincent played against a northern hemisphere prop so I think there was some valuable experience for him."

The Boks are set to name their side for this weekend's trip to Argentina on Wednesday.

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