Ex Supersport
The Western Force scored their eighth win of the season and moved into second spot on the Australian Vodacom Super Rugby conference but the Lions can feel aggrieved at the circumstances that led to their 29-19 defeat in Perth on Saturday.
That scoreline doesn’t tell you how close it was for most of the way as the Lions simply refused to lie down in the second half against a Western Force team that was given a significant leg up by yet another diabolical TMO decision before halftime.
The Lions, determined to get one win on the road before heading back to Johannesburg, were leading 9-3 and looking well in control after a wet start to the game when loosehead prop Corne Fourie was yellow carded for what the TMO saw as a no arms tackle. The replay suggested it was a dubious call and even the Australian commentators were in agreement that it was a “soft” yellow card.
It had a massive impact on the game though, for the Force scored a try through skipper Matt Hodgson from the scrum that they opted to take instead of kicking the penalty for posts. Sias Ebersohn kicked the conversion to put the Force into the lead for the first time since the fifth minute.
The Lions seemed to reel after that score, and the Force stormed back onto the attack and nearly scored immediately. However they never dotted down, a scrum five was awarded, and after Ben McCalman came close the ball was spread wide for Jayden Hayward to go over in the corner. Ebersohn produced a horrid conversion kick but it didn’t change the fact that the game had been turned on its head in a matter of a few minutes.
It all started with that highly questionable yellow card and yet again it has to be asked – are the yellow cards, and what they are awarded for, ruining the game, and are the TMOs interfering too often?
No its just crooking that is the problem. Its that simple.
