The critical scrum saw Bok replacement loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp penalized for allegedly walking around. However, Burger and Shimange, speaking on The Verdict podcast, insisted that Steenekamp remained properly bound to hooker Malcolm Marx throughout the ordeal.
"In my opinion, [Steenekamp] stays connected to the hooker. He's connected to Malcolm the whole time." - Shimange
Burger supported Shimange's assessment and pushed back against the referee's decision not to reset the scrum.
"That's a reset all day. Ja, that's a reset." - Burger
Their analysis pointed out that the issue might have been exacerbated by All Black prop George Bower's positioning, which they believe contributed to the scrum's rotation, rather than clear dominance from New Zealand.
"Because if you look on the other side, [George] Bower actually gets underneath [Wilco] Louw, so the scrum actually turns like that. It’s not forward dominance from New Zealand. That, for me, is a reset, if anything," explained Shimange.
Burger emphasized how pivotal the moment was, correlating the string of penalties that followed with a surge in New Zealand's performance.
"This is where the 'rope-a-dope' term came from, because then you go penalty against you, penalty against you, they get into our half and the momentum all of a sudden goes to the All Blacks. They started doing a lot right then."
Former Bok lock Victor Matfield also criticized the decision on the Rugby Rivals podcast, noting the technical faults he observed which led to the scrum's collapse and subsequent penalty against South Africa.
"Your No 1 [Bower] went on the angle so badly and that's why we just shifted away," Matfield said. "Because No 1 went around the angle, we were straight, all of a sudden we dominated the scrum, we were going forward again, and all of a sudden penalty against South Africa."
The debate over this scrum penalty has reignited discussions about consistency in scrum adjudication, with former players bringing their hefty experience to bear in analyzing the nuances that often escape the casual observer. As the series progresses, the scrum, often a battleground of its own, will continue to be a critical area of focus.
