Currie Cup results:
Lions Sink the Bulls
Lions 35 – 26 Blue Bulls
The Lions took home 5 points on Saturday night at Ellis Park being their rivals and scoring 5 tries along the way. The young Bulls side played 20 minutes of the game with 14 men after losing Clayton Blommetjies for tripping and Tony Jantjies for playing the ball in the ruck on his own try line. The Lions were unable to take full advantage of the player mismatch, leading only 13-7 at half time. The lions dominated the kicking battle, choosing to play percentage rugby on the night, which seemed to pay off and eventually led to a solid 35-26 win.
Scorers:
Golden Lions 35 (13): Tries: Andries Coetzee, Jaco Kriel, Ruan Dreyer, Jacques van Rooyen, Marnitz Boshoff. Conversions: Elton Jantjies (2). Penalties: Elton Jantjies, Boshoff.
Blue Bulls 26 (7): Tries: Rudy Paige, Bjorn Basson (2), Francois Venter. Conversions: Tony Jantjies (3).
Sharks Make a Point
Sharks 50 – 26 Free State
A massive win by the Sharks resulted in them getting another 5 pointer and thereby moving to the top of the Currie Cup log with a win over Free State in Durban on Saturday Afternoon. The Sharks scored 7 tries with Lwazi Mvovo managing to cross the white line twice. The first try was scored within the first 3 minutes, with Free State being put on the back foot from the start, where they remained for the duration of the match. The young Shark Number flyhalf, Fred Zeilinga had a shaky start with the boot, missing his first two conversions, but his confidence grew as his attacking game and slick skills sent away his outside back time after time in the game on the day. Sharks led by 10 points at the break, 26-16. Marcel Coetzee also had a stormer of a game, regaining some of the form he’d shown the year before that led to him being given a chance in the Bok jersey. The game ended with a consolation try by AJ le Roux from the Cheetahs.
Scorers:
Sharks 50 (26): Tries: SP Marais, Lwazi Mvovo (2), Heimar Williams, Tim Whitehead, Keegan Daniel, Cobus Reinach. Conversions: Fred Zeilinga (3). Penalties: Zeilinga (3).
Free State Cheetahs 26 (16): Tries: Raymond Rhule, AJ le Roux. Conversions: Riaan Smit (2). Penalties: Smit (4)
WP Scrapes Through
WP 19 – 13 Griquas
A wet and cold Newlands resulted in a dull, error ridden match between Griquas and WP. Despite these conditions WP chose to run the ball every chance they got in the opening 20 minutes, but the same problem they’ve had all year was recurring again on the night. WP would get in to Griquas 22m, but would continue to lose the ball in crucial moments and just couldn’t cross the white line, a problem they’ve had for many years now under the coaching of Coetzee. WP showed very little creativity in their attack merely swinging the ball wide, from side to side on the field, with no deception with dummy runners or change of angles of running lines. Once again there was a dodgy decision that went against WP which led to them play with 14 men for 10 minutes of the game. WP went into half time trailing 10-6. They however managed to take the lead when scrumhalf Nick Groom darted over for a try. In the dying minutes WP almost lost the lead again when they lost a scrum in their own half which resulted in a series of attack from Griquas which nearly resulted in a try which would have seen WP lose the game. However they managed to hold on to the lead and eventually won 19-13.
Scorers:
WP 19 (6): Tries: Nic Groom. Conversions: Kurt Coleman. Penalties: Kurt Coleman (3), Demetri Catrakilis
Griquas 13 (10): Tries: Nico Scheepers. Conversions: Nico Scheepers. Penalties: Francois Brummer, Gouws Prinsloo
Currie Cup log:
Sharks Pld: 7 W: 5 Pts: 24
WP Pld: 7 W: 5 Pts: 24
Lions Pld: 7 W: 3 Pts: 20
Free State Pld: 7 W: 3 Pts: 16
Blue Bulls Pld: 7 W: 2 Pts: 11
Griquas Pld: 7 W: 1 Pts: 10
With just three rounds of league action remaining, all six teams can still make it into the semi-finals - although Griquas and the Bulls will rely on the outcomes of other teams to make it.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Thursday, 19 September 2013
The Role of the TMO in Rugby Union
In recent times the role of the TMO has come under question, especially after the Romain Poite incident as well as the last two WP games where they almost lost the games due to bad TMO decisions. So I decided to write about it giving you the current laws, and how I think it could be bettered.
You would think that with two assistant referees on the side of the field and the benefit of slow motion replays and the TMO up in the stands, there is no reason why an official should make a mistake, however week after week we are seeing some dreadful decisions being made.
Currently TMO’s can only rule on exactly what the referee asks them (in most unions they can only be asked about events in-goal or immediately before entering in-goal and in recent times, about incident of foul play). This is where my view differs, I feel that if a mistake has been made by the ref, any of the officials on the field or the TMO may correct him. If the ref does go to the TMO and does not ask the right question, the TMO should be able to correct him. There is no reason for a bad call to be made just because the ref didn’t word his question correctly.
Some might say that this slowing down the game, and that we’re moving closer to NFL, where games are up to 4 hours long. But would you rather have a game that’s a bit slower, with most of the decisions being correct or would you have the game as it is today; filled with errors that could possibly ruin the game and at the end of the day decide the course of the match. I believe the slower option is the way to go. The best team on the day should win, not the team that was lucky enough to have all the calls go their way.
Referees are under tremendous pressure, they are often influenced by home crowds and are therefore sometimes unable to handle highly charged situations. During my studies at Stellenbosch University I played rugby for a koshuis side in the Sauer Cup. During this time they were experimenting with the rugby laws, one of these being that of using two referees on the field and two assistant referees (touch judges). One man can no longer officiate a game of rugby. It has become too complex, with too much riding on it. Yes, touch judges are now called assistant referees, but they don’t really seem to come into play much as they as they are so far away from most of the action. Having another ref on the field could change things, with each looking after a half of the field divided by an imaginary line splitting the goal posts on either end of the field. Each would need to agree on the other’s call, and if in disagreement with each other, they would call in the TMO. This would also be a good way to keep an eye on both sides of the scrum, and both sets of offside lines.
Thereby minimising mistakes and taking away the power of a ref to change the outcome of a game. The fact that one man’s interpretation of the laws can have such a direct bearing on a match result is probably the biggest problem facing the sport today. Share your view and opinions on the topic as I’m sure there are many different ideas and opinions out there.
Monday, 16 September 2013
The Most Hated Man in South Africa
The weekend's rugby championship match between New Zealand and the Springboks was ruined by one man, Romain Poite. A game which was touted to be one of the highlights of the season seized to be so when Bismarck du Plessis was given a yellow card early for a so called late, no arms and high tackle. However, looking at the replays it is clearly seen to be none of these.
Romain Poite is a French international referee with a fair share of experience, having reffed international games since 2010. He has however come under fire for his performances in recent times after he was appointed to referee the third and deciding Test of the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour against Australia. The Lions won, with Poite's rulings at the scrum being pivotal to their success.
This was once again the case in this weekend’s game where he made a few controversial decisions which changed the course of the match, and ruined a game which promised to be an epic clash between the two top ranking nations in rugby union.
Poite made numerous errors during the match, but the two that infuriated South African fans most was the yellow card handed to Bismarck for the so called high, late and no arms tackle and then the second yellow for leading with the elbow, which lead to a red card. This meant that the Boks had to play 50 minutes of the game with just 14 men.
If we had to look at the first infringement (Bismarck’s tackle) there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. First of all, Du Plessis was not offside, there had been no ruck or maul so there is no offside line as it was open play. Secondly, Carter had the ball when he was tackled, so there is no way that it could have been late. Thirdly, the tackle was at chest height, and could therefore not be a high tackle. Lastly Bismarck’s arm was wrapped around Carters back and arms were clearly used, thereby ruling out his third so called infringement that Poite gave for giving the yellow card.
What made the decision worse is that he had gone to the TMO and asked for a review of the scuffle that ensued after the tackle and could clearly see that he had made a mistake on the big screen. He also had two assistant referees on the side of the field and a TMO in the stand who could all have corrected him. The French TMO George Ayoub's also played a role in this incident, when clearly seeing what had happened after reviewing the pushing and shoving that happened after the tackle, he informed Poite “You decide what to do as far the tackle goes.” Had he corrected him, South Africa could very well have won the game, which ended pretty close despite playing with only 14 men.
The second incident might well have been a yellow card, however had that 1st decision not gone against the Boks, they would not have been awarded a red card, and would therefore only have played with a man short for 10 minutes, which is a lot easier to handle than the 50 minutes that they had to endure.
The 50 minutes ended up being too much to handle for South Africa and they eventually lost the match 29-15. Romain Poite has admitted he made a mistake in yellow carding du Plessis as well as the IRB. The IRB gave the excuse of human error as the reason for the error, but with the systems place today this sort of thing should not have happened.
South African Fans showed their disgust by forming a Facebook petition to stop Poite from ever reffing another rugby game. At the time of writing this blog there were 63 000 likes for the page and 86 000 people talking about the page. There is also a video of Poite being tackled and pushed around on the field that has made the rounds which seemed lessen the hate South Africans felt for him and brought a smile to their face. Have a look at the video below; I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
Romain Poite is a French international referee with a fair share of experience, having reffed international games since 2010. He has however come under fire for his performances in recent times after he was appointed to referee the third and deciding Test of the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour against Australia. The Lions won, with Poite's rulings at the scrum being pivotal to their success.
This was once again the case in this weekend’s game where he made a few controversial decisions which changed the course of the match, and ruined a game which promised to be an epic clash between the two top ranking nations in rugby union.
Poite made numerous errors during the match, but the two that infuriated South African fans most was the yellow card handed to Bismarck for the so called high, late and no arms tackle and then the second yellow for leading with the elbow, which lead to a red card. This meant that the Boks had to play 50 minutes of the game with just 14 men.
If we had to look at the first infringement (Bismarck’s tackle) there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. First of all, Du Plessis was not offside, there had been no ruck or maul so there is no offside line as it was open play. Secondly, Carter had the ball when he was tackled, so there is no way that it could have been late. Thirdly, the tackle was at chest height, and could therefore not be a high tackle. Lastly Bismarck’s arm was wrapped around Carters back and arms were clearly used, thereby ruling out his third so called infringement that Poite gave for giving the yellow card.
What made the decision worse is that he had gone to the TMO and asked for a review of the scuffle that ensued after the tackle and could clearly see that he had made a mistake on the big screen. He also had two assistant referees on the side of the field and a TMO in the stand who could all have corrected him. The French TMO George Ayoub's also played a role in this incident, when clearly seeing what had happened after reviewing the pushing and shoving that happened after the tackle, he informed Poite “You decide what to do as far the tackle goes.” Had he corrected him, South Africa could very well have won the game, which ended pretty close despite playing with only 14 men.
The second incident might well have been a yellow card, however had that 1st decision not gone against the Boks, they would not have been awarded a red card, and would therefore only have played with a man short for 10 minutes, which is a lot easier to handle than the 50 minutes that they had to endure.
The 50 minutes ended up being too much to handle for South Africa and they eventually lost the match 29-15. Romain Poite has admitted he made a mistake in yellow carding du Plessis as well as the IRB. The IRB gave the excuse of human error as the reason for the error, but with the systems place today this sort of thing should not have happened.
South African Fans showed their disgust by forming a Facebook petition to stop Poite from ever reffing another rugby game. At the time of writing this blog there were 63 000 likes for the page and 86 000 people talking about the page. There is also a video of Poite being tackled and pushed around on the field that has made the rounds which seemed lessen the hate South Africans felt for him and brought a smile to their face. Have a look at the video below; I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Player Ratings of RSA vs NZ (14/09/2013)
The weekend’s loss to New Zealand saw a few dodgy calls being made, to add to this there were a few dodgy performances put in by the Boks. Here are my ratings of the Bok starting XV.
Zane Kirchner 6
As much as I hate the guy, he did have a solid night with competing in the air for high balls, one of these aided Lambie’s try. His lack of creativity from the back however re-introduced debate about his right to the jersey.
Willie le Roux 5.5
There was not much room for the electric winger to showcase his usual inventive moves, with very little ball going to the Bok backline. There were some decision-making errors. A decent little break late in the second half saved his game ratings a bit.
JJ Engelbrecht 4
He had an absolute mare, with the little ball that the Boks got he was not seen once on attack. The question over his defence at centre being raised again after he let Nonu run at him with all the time in the world time after time. The communication between him and Jaen is not quite there yet, and gaps between the two were wider than the Grand Canyon.
Jean de Villiers 6.5
One or two forceful runs through the middle. Kept his cool under the conditions as captain even with the shocker Poite was having on the night. Victim of cynical shoulder-charge from Nonu.
Bryan Habana 6
High in energy as always, always looking for work. Made two turnovers at ruck time. Otherwise had very little ball. He will however be remembered for the costly kick that went astray.
Morné Steyn 5.5
Missed a fair amount of tackles, offered nothing on attack. Kicking off the tee was off for the night. His rating was however saved a deft little cross kick that ended in a try late in the 2nd half.
Ruan Pienaar 4
Another backline player that had a shocker. Kicking aimlessly down the field, not getting enough height or depth on his box kicks. His defence came into question a few times, once for shooting up out of line and the other for a half-hearted tackle that got shrugged off and eventually led to a try. Also offering very little on attack, ,erely passing the ball and giving average box kicks.
Duane Vermeulen 7.5
The standout Bok player on the night. He was all over the field, carried the ball up strongly, made a few huge tackles and stole a few balls at the ruck. What more do you want from a loose forward?
Willem Alberts 6.5
The Bone Collector was unlucky to be pulled off after Bismarck was given a red card, was immense in the contact situation, dominating the NZ players both on defence and attack.
Francois Louw 6
Not as good as he has been so far this year, however still good enough taking into account that it was 7 vs 8 in the battle of the forwards. His handling let him down in open play at one stage in the match.
Flip van der Merwe 6
Promising start of the match by stealing a ball from Whitelock’s finger-tips. Was working hard to impose himself before his unlucky leg injury which resulted in him playing only one half.
Eben Etzebeth 6.5
Knocked on an early lineout steal. Mostly pretty solid on his own-ball take. Showed huge heart as usual in the open-play battle on both attack and defence.
Jannie du Plessis 4.5
Scrumming was good on the night, however he still misses far too many tackles, gives away penalties and often disappeared on the night where he wasn’t seen unless there was a set piece.
Bismarck du Plessis 7
Despite being sent off (which he didn’t deserve). He was massive in both attack and defence. Crushing Carter in half and stealing balls at the ruck. Was like an extra loose forward on the night
Tendai Mtawarira 6.5
Dominated his scrumming opponent, Owen Franks in a couple of early scrums, popping the respected tight head once. Was also very solid on defence and had a few good crash ball runs.
Zane Kirchner 6
As much as I hate the guy, he did have a solid night with competing in the air for high balls, one of these aided Lambie’s try. His lack of creativity from the back however re-introduced debate about his right to the jersey.
Willie le Roux 5.5
There was not much room for the electric winger to showcase his usual inventive moves, with very little ball going to the Bok backline. There were some decision-making errors. A decent little break late in the second half saved his game ratings a bit.
JJ Engelbrecht 4
He had an absolute mare, with the little ball that the Boks got he was not seen once on attack. The question over his defence at centre being raised again after he let Nonu run at him with all the time in the world time after time. The communication between him and Jaen is not quite there yet, and gaps between the two were wider than the Grand Canyon.
Jean de Villiers 6.5
One or two forceful runs through the middle. Kept his cool under the conditions as captain even with the shocker Poite was having on the night. Victim of cynical shoulder-charge from Nonu.
Bryan Habana 6
High in energy as always, always looking for work. Made two turnovers at ruck time. Otherwise had very little ball. He will however be remembered for the costly kick that went astray.
Morné Steyn 5.5
Missed a fair amount of tackles, offered nothing on attack. Kicking off the tee was off for the night. His rating was however saved a deft little cross kick that ended in a try late in the 2nd half.
Ruan Pienaar 4
Another backline player that had a shocker. Kicking aimlessly down the field, not getting enough height or depth on his box kicks. His defence came into question a few times, once for shooting up out of line and the other for a half-hearted tackle that got shrugged off and eventually led to a try. Also offering very little on attack, ,erely passing the ball and giving average box kicks.
Duane Vermeulen 7.5
The standout Bok player on the night. He was all over the field, carried the ball up strongly, made a few huge tackles and stole a few balls at the ruck. What more do you want from a loose forward?
Willem Alberts 6.5
The Bone Collector was unlucky to be pulled off after Bismarck was given a red card, was immense in the contact situation, dominating the NZ players both on defence and attack.
Francois Louw 6
Not as good as he has been so far this year, however still good enough taking into account that it was 7 vs 8 in the battle of the forwards. His handling let him down in open play at one stage in the match.
Flip van der Merwe 6
Promising start of the match by stealing a ball from Whitelock’s finger-tips. Was working hard to impose himself before his unlucky leg injury which resulted in him playing only one half.
Eben Etzebeth 6.5
Knocked on an early lineout steal. Mostly pretty solid on his own-ball take. Showed huge heart as usual in the open-play battle on both attack and defence.
Jannie du Plessis 4.5
Scrumming was good on the night, however he still misses far too many tackles, gives away penalties and often disappeared on the night where he wasn’t seen unless there was a set piece.
Bismarck du Plessis 7
Despite being sent off (which he didn’t deserve). He was massive in both attack and defence. Crushing Carter in half and stealing balls at the ruck. Was like an extra loose forward on the night
Tendai Mtawarira 6.5
Dominated his scrumming opponent, Owen Franks in a couple of early scrums, popping the respected tight head once. Was also very solid on defence and had a few good crash ball runs.
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