Competing on the high ball.

Meyers Comments: " 

Maybe we need to change our tactics,’ the Bok coach said sarcastically. 

‘It’s getting to the point where you don’t even want to have players jumping and competing for the ball. Every time it’s a 50/50. Maybe I should tell them [the Bok players] to wait until the opposition has landed first before they compete". 

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It seems to be me the Boks get penalized non-stop in away games for competing on the high ball. What Meyer was saying, is what I was thinking yesterday. 

If the refs are going to take the word of the local crowd over the TMO and/or video replay, we may as well not compete on the high ball. 

Their is no rule that says you cant make contact with the opposition player, as long as you are going for the ball. 

How does a referee interpret if the chasing player intentionally makes contact, or if it is by accident while trying to catch the ball. 

It seems the Boks allways get the s hit end of the stick on these calls. I have seen many of the opposition home teams do exactly the same thing and get away with it. In the Ireland match a defending bok player jumped, and the opposition player went for the ball but knocked the Bok player back in the air at the same time. 

Maybe a Bok player should only jump if they are the first to do so. It would be hard to say that they have infringed if they are the first in the air.

All 3 Sky commentators including a Welsh one said that yesterdays incident was not even a penalty, let alone a yellow card. 

We are being outwitted and are too stupid to cop onto the fact that teams know they can exploit the law which protects the receiver.

The plan is so simple it is almost laughable, when SA kick, jump high, they will touch you, make sue you fall hard and milk it for everything it is worth.

In the last few games we had Strauss touch Kearney who already had his weight going backwards, he fell and card, Habana touched two players and they got penalties, and yesterday the same thing.

Stop kicking the ball, or alternatively stop touching the player in the air.  

Boks livid with ref

Heyneke Meyer feels that Cornal Hendricks’s dubious yellow card killed any chance of a Springbok comeback at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, reports JON CARDINELLI in Cardiff.

The 12-6 defeat is only South Africa’s second to Wales in the history of the game. The Boks are hurting after such a disappointing result and performance. The players and the coach have taken responsibility for their mistakes and poor decision-making. However, mixed in with the feelings of disappointment is a fair amount of frustration.

Yet again, this is down to a shocking refereeing decision that influenced the final result. The Boks felt hard done by in a Test against Australia in Perth this past September, when George Clancy penalised Duane Vermeulen for a legitimate hit, and then sent Bryan Habana to the sin bin for an innocuous tackle in the second half. In Cardiff on Saturday, it was John Lacey who got it wrong when he sent Hendricks from the field for a challenge well within the laws.

Meyer said afterwards that he wasn’t allowed to criticise referees. And yet his comments and tone were far from flattering. He invited journalists to read between the lines.

‘Maybe we need to change our tactics,’ the Bok coach said sarcastically. ‘It’s getting to the point where you don’t even want to have players jumping and competing for the ball. Every time it’s a 50/50. Maybe I should tell them [the Bok players] to wait until the opposition has landed first before they compete.

‘We are not an ill-disciplined team,’ he continued. ‘We had the best disciplinary record in the Rugby Championship, and I always coach players to play within the laws. When the ball goes up in the air, it’s a contest. But maybe it’s too much of a grey area at the moment.

‘I’m not allowed to comment on referees, and I don’t want to make excuses. But it was a big blow to lose our captain [Jean de Villiers to injury in the 56th minute], and then get a call like that. That was pretty much it. We were six points behind at that stage, and looking to close the gap. But when you go a man down you have to be more defensive and it’s hard to build any momentum on attack.’

The bad call aside, Meyer admitted the Boks weren’t at their best against Wales. He lamented the individual errors on the day, and also suggested a lack of experience impacted on the display.

‘We always said this tour was going to test our character and our depth,’ he said. ‘There was a lot of pressure in that second half, and we had lost Jean. I had faith in Victor Matfield, the vice-captain, but losing Jean meant we had to bring on some youngsters. Some are new to this level, and some of the combinations, for example the back three, was new.

‘The result is disappointing, but I think we got some of the answers we wanted. It was a good experience for those players who hadn’t toured the northern hemisphere before, and I am satisfied that we have bolstered our depth.’

Wales snap losing streak

... (meant to place this on the Law change thread).