Australian referee Ian Smith managed to avoid Cheetahs coach Naka Drotske after Saturdays crucial match which the Cheetahs lost to the Bulls 30-27.
Drotske was unhappy with some of the decisions that Ian Smith made and wanted to question him over it. However, touch judge Cobus Wessels prevented him.
“I walked to the referee and asked him ‘Ian, may I please ask you a question’, after which he said ‘yes, sure’.
“When I started talking to him about the high kick in which Lionel Mapoe had been involved, Cobus Wessels intervened and said I was not allowed to speak to Smith” said Drotske.
Wessels then said Drotske should give referee Ian Smith a chance to shower first.
“When I returned 10 minutes later, the door was locked and nobody was there.”
South African referees boss André Watson confirmed that Wessels did the right thing.
“The unwritten protocol is that teams and referees shower first and thereafter speak on neutral territory. That also allows time for emotion to subside,” he said.
Watson added that Drotské was someone who handles such situations well.
Drotske was still unhappy though.
“What annoys me, is that if my team loses by 40 points and SuperSport call me to tell the country why we played so badly, I can’t say I’m first going to have a shower,” said Drotské.
Watson said more had been expected of Smith as he had Super14 experience.
It has to be said that Drotske has every right to feel unhappy. Mapoe was penalised unfairly and it cost the Cheetahs precious momentum.
Also, when looking at Dewald Potgieter’s try, it is very clear that Stegmann played the ball from an offside position as he was in front of Potgieter when the kick was charged down.
Earlier this year in the s14 clash between these two teams, the Cheetahs scored an illegal try which almost cost the Bulls a home semi final. The ball was thrown into a quick line-out and the Cheetahs ran 40metres to score a try. The rule states that a quick line-out must be taken with the same ball.
“I walked to the referee and asked him ‘Ian, may I please ask you a question’, after which he said ‘yes, sure’.
This ref is really stupid.
Lucky Wessels saved his bacon.
Imagine Naka got hold of him. :thunder: :thunder: :thunder:
This protection of the sacred ref cows must come to an end. Players and coaches loose lots of money due to their mistakes, the refs should be held accountable.
have to say that the ref had an awful game and saved the bok studded bulls teams bacon. but………..a team has to play 10 or 15 points better than the ref. no use crying over spilt milk.
Now Watson comes up with some unwritten protocol bullshit?
What next?
(Andre) Watson’s footwork makes Fabian Juries look like a statue
Must say, Naka is one of the most chilled, relaxed and pleasant coaches to sit and chat to in an interview.
The public and coaches all want a ref to admit he made a mistake and it’s never gonna happen. If you admit to a mistake, you immediately become liable for all sorts of things. You’ll receive a label and the press will ahve a field day before matches at the cost of referee’s.
Look, he made mistakes, and hell, i would very much wanted to see the cheatah’s beat the Bulls, but the reality is that refs will make mistakes.
By talking to ref after the game is not going to change the result.
Today the call is against you, and tomorrow it will be for you. It’s part of the game.
The Ausie ref had nothing to gain and if there is anybosdy to blame for a bad decision on Sat, it should be the TV ref, JC Fortuin was it?
I was a ref for a long time and i know that it is a :poop: job. There will always be people that’s unhappy.
Forget about the spietkop label that SA public want to give to the refs and just appreciate them for the job they are trying to do.
All this excludes Willie Roos ………….. 😀
Well Naka didn’t complain when this tosser decided that pulling down mauls are still allowed. It happened 3 or 4 times right in front of where I was sitting. Everytime a prop went in under our feet and nothing. We would’ve scored at least 2 tries from there.
@Onerb – #8 Ja it is always 6 of the one and half a dozen of the other, think it depends which colour glasses you are wearing…
@Tripples – Hey Onerb is a Cheetah supporter and therefore cannot be critisized.
Of course he can :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:
:poop: @Tripples –
IRB law 11.4(f)
“The 10-Metre Law does not aply when a player kicks the ball, and an opponent charges down the kick, and a team-mate of the kicker who was in front of the imaginary 10-metre line across the field then plays the ball. The opponent was not ‘waiting to play the ball’ and the team-mate is onside.”
@Cosa – Dankie Cosa nou kan hulle ophou friggin kerm 😆
@Tripples – Team mate of the kicker. This mearly means if a ball is touched by a player charging down the ball, THE KICKERS team mates are all on side even though they are in front of the kicker.
@isigidi – Point being? That means that he was NOT offside then and therefor that is WHY he was not penalized which is what everyone is screeching about
hehehehe
Loosehead,
A bull supporter actually.
Guys it was patently clear that this referee is used to blowing club matches in Australia.
He was bad both ways.
Users Online
Total 504 users including 0 member, 504 guests, 0 bot online
Most users ever online were 3735, on 31 August 2022 @ 6:23 pm
No Counter as from 31 October 2009: 41,828,242 Page Impressions
_