Brendan Venter's bizarre post-match interview following Saracens' Heineken Cup defeat to Racing Metro was reportedly inspired by the film - Mike Bassett: England Manager.
The outspoken South African, who was fined by European Rugby Cup (ERC) officials earlier this season for criticising a referee, ended his self-imposed media ban in the wake of his side's 24-21 defeat at Vicarage Road with a headline-grabbing performance in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
In the 2001 film, England football coach Dave Dodds is interviewed by the press and does nothing more than repeat the questions put to him. The Daily Mirror reports that Venter watched the film on a recent away trip to Gloucester and subsequently chose to use it as the model for his apparent protest against the €25,000 fine handed down to him after he aired what he considered an "honest" opinion following his team's loss to Leinster in October.
Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths has backed his director of rugby, who will step down from the role in the New Year to return home to South Africa, and hopes his outburst - that is now an internet hit - does not result in more disciplinary action.
ERC have revealed that they are currently reviewing all the weekend's game as is "customary" and would not comment further on the issue. Some €15,000 of the earlier fine was suspended but would be payable only if he is found guilty of further acts of misconduct arising from ERC tournaments before June 30, 2012.
"If he was less interesting, hopefully it doesn't result in a disciplinary hearing," Griffiths told BBC 5 live. "After the last Heineken Cup game, Brendan was asked questions and gave honest answers that we believe amounted to not much more than a coach talking about the state of rugby and various issues.
"That resulted in a disciplinary hearing and a fine. The European Rugby Cup (ERC) want to run it this way and it is their competition and their rules. Their disciplinary procedures basically say if you are in any way critical of anything, whether you are right or wrong, it is a misconduct charge
"We tried to avoid another disciplinary charge and hopefully we have. We went to Dublin for the hearing and were hauled over the coals when teams were fined significantly less for fielding under-strength sides - I want to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Sky Sports interviewer Martin Gillingham admitted he had "no idea what was going on" during the interview. "I'd been down to training at Saracens earlier in the week for research," he told The Star newspaper in South Africa. "There was no inclination of what was going to happen.
"After the game I got a call to run down to do the post-match interview, and I did the interview, and, you know how it goes, at the time you're listening but it doesn't sink in because of the adrenaline. I thought it was a bit strange, and when we stopped, I turned around and saw the dropped jaws. Then it sank in."
The newspaper quoted the scene from Mike Bassett: England Manager that stars Ricky Tomlinson in the title role and Bradley Walsh as his coach Dave Dodds:
Reporter: The team looks in pretty good shape?
Dave Dodds: Good shape, yeah. Yeah, good shape. Good team. Looking very good. Couldn't be better.
Reporter: Having said that we're not actually playing very well at the moment?
Dave Dodds: No, no. Terrible, terrible. Terrible shape, terrible team, looking very bad.
Reporter: Then again the omens do look very good for England?
Dave Dodds: Looking good, very good.
Which is very similar to the conversation that took place between Venter and Sky Sports reporter Martin Gillingham on Saturday:
Martin Gillingham: How disappointed are you?
Brendan Venter: Disappointed, very disappointed, very disappointed.
Martin Gillingham: What went wrong because you got off to such a wonderful start?
Brendan Venter: Yah , interesting. I wonder what went wrong. Have to think about it.
Martin Gillingham: But what did go wrong?
Brendan Venter: I'll have to look and think. Think about it deeply. Very deeply.
Martin Gillingham: Did it hinge in the end on a bit of genius from Sireli Bobo?
Brendan Venter: Bit of genius, bit of magic, Sireli Bobo, very interesting, very good yah. Three cheers for Sireli Bobo. Very good. Very good.
Martin Gillingham: What were you happy with about your side?
Brendan Venter: Happy? Everything. Very good, very happy with my team.
Martin Gillingham: But you didn't win did you Brendan?
Brendan Venter: No, well, we didn't win. It's true.
Martin Gillingham: Why didn't you win?
Brendan Venter: Good question that, very good question. It's important to win, it is. We must try harder, absolutely, yes.
Martin Gillingham: Do you think it's a lack of effort?
Brendan Venter: Lack of effort, lack of effort? I can't think it's a lack of effort.
Martin Gillingham: So what is it Brendan?
Brendan Venter: What would it be, let me think. I'm not sure. I'll have to think about that one. Think about it deeply.