Brother Bueno your favourite Kiwi journo Mark Reason's back to massage a few delicate egos...
Springboks too nice for their own good
OPINION: It hasn't always been so, but South Africa's sportsmanship over the past decade is a remarkable phenomenon in the cynical world of professional sport. The Springboks players and management very rarely criticise refs, they have been known to apologise for violent play and their graciousness in defeat is a lesson to us all. But, with head in hands, I do wonder if this decency is hurting their chances.
A number of instances arose from Saturday's test between the All Blacks and the Springboks which suggest that the method of smooth diplomacy, so successful at the 2007 World Cup, may no longer be playing out so well. Too often are the Springboks finishing on the wrong end of poor refereeing. It cost them their place at the last World Cup and it might have just cost them this year's Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks are a very different beast. They let the referee know when sinned against, a tradition most famously marked by Andy Haden's infamous leap out of the lineout in Cardiff in 1978. Over the years the All Blacks have been serial communicators with the ref. This is not criticism - that really would be the pot calling the kettle black, hush my mouth on a Saturday afternoon - but an observation.
There can be little doubt that New Zealand greatly contributed to Bismarck du Plessis' sending off and that Springboks captain Jean de Villiers did little to save him. When Dan Carter went down in a heap from du Plessis' entirely legal tackle, the All Blacks waded in. This inflamed the situation, inflamed the crowd and must have had a subconscious influence on the referee.
In the aftermath Romain Poite got his question hopelessly wrong of the TMO. The Frenchman requested, "I have a decision, but check if there was any foul play afterwards."
Skipper de Villiers politely enquired what was wrong with the tackle.
"No arms," said All Blacks captain Kieran Read, quite wrongly.
"High and shoulder and no arms," added Poite.
As we all now know, not least from Carter's very decent public statement, Poite was talking tripe, a dish of which the French are particularly fond. But an All Blacks captain in the same situation would have pleaded for him to check the video footage and the ref would have complied.
But we never saw the most conclusive angle until du Plessis had been shown the yellow card. We didn't see it, because Poite had not requested to see the tackle again, just the ensuing brawl. TMO George Ayoub did not adjudicate on the tackle because he hadn't been asked to.
After the match coach Heyneke Meyer said, "We don't have any excuses, we wanted it to be a spectacle... I truly believe that guys are well educated so we've got a saying that the ref is always right."
This is the modern Springbok way. Excepting the erratic Peter de Villiers, it has become part of their rugby culture. Jake White was supremely gracious after the Brumbies lost the Super 15 final. Meyer, you may remember, publicly apologised for Dean Greyling's wretched forearm smash on McCaw last year.
And Jean de Villiers said after this latest defeat, "We've seen how far we are behind the All Blacks. They are a fantastic team and we can still learn a lot from them. Defensively we were very poor."
The Springboks forwards may have wondered about their captain's words. South Africa's back three was appalling. Bryan Habana made a costly kicking mistake, Zane Kirchner couldn't catch the ball and Willie le Roux's positional naivety was constantly exposed by New Zealand's clever kicking. But the forwards were smashing New Zealand at the breakdown and winning the set piece battle. They know the loss of du Plessis decided the match.
The hooker was outstanding while he was on the pitch and for the 35 minutes when there was parity in numbers the score was 10-10. For the 40 minutes the All Blacks had an extra man, the score was 19-0. And the Springboks won the five minutes when they were a man up 5-0.
The second yellow card and sending off of du Plessis was crucial and again it was unsatisfactory. For a start the IRB needs to address this area because nothing in the current laws regarding foul play satisfactorily defines the fend.
Steve Hansen said, in sour contrast to South Africa's post match dignity, "I don't think it's legal putting your elbow in someone's throat. The second one may have been a red."
This is drivel and may well be designed to defuse any sympathy ahead of the re-match in South Africa. Du Plessis may have been reckless, but he was turning away, almost stationary and had his eyes shut when he made contact with Liam Messam's neck.
I found three similar instances later in the half. One was by Owen Franks, off the ball and ahead of play, on Eben Etzebeth, and contributed to Read's second try. One was by Charles Piutau on Jean de Villiers and the final one was by replacement Jan Serfontein.
The Piutau incident was very similar to du Plessis'. The difference was that de Villiers did not reel away clutching his throat and go down in a heap. I am not saying Messam was play-acting. I am saying the reaction of the player influenced the assistant referee who was decidedly late in signalling any concern.
South Africa may well ponder that in both instances the reaction of the All Blacks exacerbated the situation. They may well ponder that their dignity is not leading to a fair hearing. Sad to say, sportsmanship rarely pays off in the win column.
- © Fairfax NZ News
