Kaplan’s Comments – Super Rugby Round 8
So let’s start off on a positive note .. I finally predicted a full house this weekend! Not that difficult given the match-ups, but it needed a moment of inspiration from Faf de Klerk in the 80th minute of the Lions fixture against the Bulls for it to happen. My Superbru is looking a whole lot healthier.
When the normally placid Thelo Wakefield is moved to comment “disgraceful” and “scandalous” on Twitter, then he is feeling quite strongly about a really poor day at the office by referee Rohan Hoffman. I’m not quite in that camp, but I do agree that there were significant errors in the first half that should not have happened. All three Canes tries had huge question marks over them (knock on, forward pass and illegal steal). All three decisions went in favour of the home team. At half time the game was done.
This is not a commentary on the hugely impressive teamwork and leadership that has permeated the Canes efforts this year (some would correctly argue that it is about time that some things went their way) but rather the ethos of game understanding, balance of decision making and the fair contest that sport offers. I do not believe the referee deliberately set out to have a poor day, but the consequence of this was a blow out in score, with absolutely no recourse for the victims. It’s not great to be apologising in running as this does little to offset the frustration of the multitude of decisions that appeared to the players to be going against them. The white card may have helped in part, but even then, the TMO didn’t rule the pass from Milner to Skudder as being forward.
After halftime, the Canes could do no right and were penalised incessantly, sometimes incorrectly too. The balance was not restored. It never could be. The referee penalised the Stormers maul for “changing lanes” as they attempted to rumble over from a line out. This is not new terminology (I could help those in studio who don’t understand) and refers to the attacking team who do not power through the middle, thereby allowing the original maul to profit from poor defence. Instead, they use the back end of their maul to go around the corner of the defence with the ball still held at the back. The referee had a fair point here. But the public does not seem to understand why this is not consistently refereed. It really would help to have an accurate expert opinion handy (i.e. in studio) to offset the inevitable public outcry when they feel wronged.
The Stormers made a line break, Nonu didn’t release, messy ball resulted, standard procedure. Coaching would help. No maybe here. Perenara won a questionable steal and got rewarded. Goodes was perfect over the ball and he got pinged. Not ideal. There were many errors in this match. Far too many. The public were indignant, upset, mystified and angry.
It is the perceived lack of transparency that will have the public asking what happens to referees who underperform, who have bad days. We’ve been through that mill many times before. It depends on the reviewer, the manager and the heat that is generated by the powers that be. The referees carry such a burden of responsibility that when it goes pear shaped for them, this is often the consequence. There is no one on the bench to sub them. There is a dearth of quality out there, with most teams clambering for a Nigel or a Craig. This cannot be good enough. More resources need to be channelled into this domain. Referees need to have better coaching on a more regular basis. End of story.
Matt O’Brien (son of Paddy) had a tough Australian derby to negotiate his way through. I thought he did very well for his rookie status. He had some tough calls to make and only towards the end of the fixture did his quality wain a bit (tackle release, maul defence, short offsides). He had to send James Horwill off for a swinging arm, albeit a very deliberate one. It was the right decision. If we allow that, then all hell breaks loose and many a player will end up with more than a broken nose.
A decision he got wrong, was overruling Ayoub, the TMO, when the Rebels scored a perfectly good try. My feeling was that inexperience played a role here as the TMO was trying to guide him through to the best outcome … A pass by Tobie Smith that certainly didn’t look forward at all. The Rebels won, so in the end this type of thing gets lost in the wash, but it is a good lesson for the young, up-and-coming referee. And good that the error didn’t affect outcome.
I thought it was interesting that Horwill, who got his second red card of the season only picked up another week’s suspension, further exacerbating the public’s frustration with the inconsistencies of the judiciary. I can just hear them saying … “if that were Bakkies!”
I didn’t see much of the play in the early games this weekend as I was out on the road completing my 7th Two Oceans Ultra marathon. Despite the re-routing over Ou Kaapse Weg, it is still one of the most scenic events on our calendar!!
After my customary crash and burn, I woke up to watch the last two games. What a pleasure to see two quality refereeing performances from our local referees, Stuart Berry and Jaco van Heerden. I thought Stuart was brave and accurate and allowed a game to flow despite the proliferation of cards on the day. I thought Jaco also did well in a game that was much tighter, where the accuracy of penalties was of paramount importance. I thought he made some mistakes, but got the balance right. He made some tough calls at the end and on further scrutiny will improve. But the composure and communication of both of them were minimalistic and effective .
I watched some European Cup matches over the weekend as well. Saracens was quite fortunate to come away with a win over Racing with a last minute penalty to win 12-11.
I would like to highlight a very important point that occurred in the next game between Toulon and Wasps refereed by George Clancy. George has had his ups and downs, but he is quite solid when it comes to backbone and allowing a fair contest. Unfortunately, he made what I believe was a critical error in the latter stages of a game which saw Wasps getting stronger as the game wore on. Wasps made a break out of their 22, and one of their support players was held back by Ali Williams. It was one of the worst examples of a cynical act of foul play (in this regard) that I have ever seen. It almost certainly cost them a chance of scoring a try, as the main support player couldn’t get to the ball carrier with the defence wasted. It was certainly a yellow, perhaps even red and has no place on the field. Neither should the player have. In the end, Wasps scored through beautiful advantage application by the referee, but incredibly, the player was allowed to stay on the field. This action tells a story in itself, the referee thinking, erroneously, that the try was enough punishment .
Wasps were in striking distance but were made to pay when they conceded a try… Wait for it … Scored by Ali Williams!! Instead of having the extra player themselves and being allowed the facility of more attack in an attempt to pull the game out of the fire, they conceded a try to a team that should have had only 14 players on the field. Incredible!
I’m not saying that Wasps could have or should have won; I’m saying they should have been given a fair chance to dictate their own destiny.
The SA conference is an absolute bunfight with the Lions and Stormers still in the best position to win it; the Aussie conference is a two-horse race between the Brumbies and the Tahs; and the Kiwi conference – – the strongest by a country mile with all four of their teams legitimately vying for play-off glory.
