Article from Sport24 by Rob Houwing
Alain Rolland is the latest referee to find himself public enemy No 1 in the eyes of the South African rugby public and commentators.
Make no mistake, New Zealand were good value for their second thumping of South Africa on the trot in the Vodacom Tri-Nations at Wellington on Saturday.
This time the margin of victory was 14 points, rather than last week’s 20, so it remained worryingly clear-cut.
But the Boks were better at the soggy Westpac Stadium, if that is any comfort — and their task was not helped at all by Rolland’s all too clearly jaundiced showing in favour of the home side.
Perhaps the very dubious “legend” of Bakkies Botha means John Smit’s side are going to suffer for a while, whether consciously or not, at the hands of some whistle-men tarring the rest of the troops unjustly with the Botha brush.
But Rolland made a crucial, match-influencing decision as early as the fourth minute which rocked the revenge-seeking Boks right back on their feet.
Having awarded them a kickable penalty which would almost certainly have meant the morale-boosting lead in the contest, he promptly reversed it after what seemed a reasonably innocuous altercation between Danie Rossouw and All Black captain Richie McCaw, simultaneously giving the disbelieving Bok lock a sin-binning.
Just as galling for Bok supporters, though, was that Rolland appeared no less well-disposed to the All Blacks for the remainder of the match, often penalising the Boks at the rucks and in the tackle when there was clear evidence he should have acted the other way in identical situations.
Indeed, fetcher McCaw got away with murder, in terms of skirting his own yellow-carding, getting a “no more” warning from Rolland on one occasion and then, remarkably, being handed what was termed an “official” last warning to save his bacon!
Rolland also took no yellow-card action when Rene Ranger blatantly shoulder-charged Bok fullback Zane Kirchner in the 35th minute.
During SuperSport commentary on the game, former Bok captain Bob Skinstad was moved to say: “He’s (only) reffing one side here.”
And afterwards there was animated studio discussion, with national flyhalf icon Naas Botha saying: “He’s blown like a home-town ref: he kept on ‘warning’ the All Blacks and it was obviously frustrating the Boks; you could hear them talking to him about it.”
Ashwin Willemse, the former Bok wing, said Rolland’s decision-making had “made a major impact on the game” and added that “interpretation” was making things too easy for referees at times.
“He made it very clear he was going to give the All Blacks the benefit of (any) doubt.”
Anchor Darren Scott weighed in on the Ranger high-tackle matter: “If that had been Butch James he would have been sent to Siberia.”
Captain Smit was surprisingly diplomatic in the pitch-side interview after the final whistle: “I was very happy with our set-pieces … (but) we weren’t allowed too much fast ball.”
He didn’t need to say much more.
The various experts’ comments were likely to have struck many South African chords in living rooms … but they also shouldn’t disguise the fact that the Boks have mounting problems, Rolland or no Rolland.
From SA Rugby, commentary.
MATCH TRACKER
43 Great start to this half by the Boks. The visitors work their way up to withing 5m of the All Blacks’ line due to some strong carries by the forwards. McCaw deliberately kills it and receives a final warning
The same offense last week by Bakkies YELLOW. It was in the 5 meter area where any offence is professional foul????
McCaw was stealing 4 balls and got away with it no wonder he looked great and was nearly man of the match.
@ superBul:
If this move came off we would have taken the lead 14-13. And the whole game would pan out different. I must say that we are not finishing well, last week we had a chance too only to concede a try a minute later.
We were outplayed and for us to be still in it up to the 50th minute was a tad lucky because of Carters poor kicking. But that is how tests are won staying in it , a true test of character.
On NZ Rugby Heaven they admit that we were doing well at certain stages.
“The Springboks didn’t exactly roll over and play dead though and once Rossouw returned from his 10 minutes of purgatory, the visitors actually had the better of the next half-hour or so, getting the margin back to six by the break – thanks to an atoning try from the big second-rower”
I saw on a SA rugby site that the Boks ranking points were very low, quite a few 3/10 and a lot of 4/10 scores. The only players significantly above 5 was the reserves.
Many of the penalties that took the wind out of our sails could have gone our way.
OK i am finally over the loss, but dont come and insult my intelligence by telling me the ref did not influence the game. Maybe not the outcome but certainly the mindset.
For the All Blacks they felt they have a ally and the Boks felt they had a enemy.
I think i had enough said now.
The tries the All Blacks were allowed to score were all spectacular. Remember how i sang the ABs praises before, as a Bulls supporter i hate losing….
All Blacks were better… and I am definately NOT going to ascribe the win to the REF…. definately not…. that would be absolutely shameful and unsportsmanlike… to the extreme!
I think it is time that the boks get rid of the Sports psychologist, and perhaps employ a Buddha to teach them some “Zen” stuff.
Either that or IQ tests may be required in future.
SuperBul
I did not think Russow deserved the yellow until I saw this :
youtube.com/watch?v=TN24J4cuquc
Pay close attention from 0:54 seconds
Very disappointing 🙁
@ Rugby_Princess:
I also had a look at it. Nothing more than a tap with the foot to provoke a bit. Not a yellow card offence. What do you think of Rene Ranger’s blatant high shoulder charge? If you are disappointed by Danie Rossouw’s behaviour then you are probably horrified by Rene Ranger shoulder charge, since that was by far more dangerous than a mere tap on the leg. If not, then you and most Kiwis are a bunch of hypocrites.
@ rugbybal:
I was referring to the swipe at RMs eyes 🙄
Rene Ranger *did* use his arms & tackled at chest height – his left arm curled right around Kirchner’s back – I will admit his right arm flailed about though & he got penalised for it. Personally thought it was a 50/50 call but if you get penalised you have to take your licks & play on.
What have you got to say about Kirchner’s unpenalised cot hanger right across Cory Jane’s throat ? I witnessed a friend nearly die as a result of that move – the only reason he survived was that a surgeon was at the game & could perform a Tracheotomy on the field.
@ rugbybal:
They come out and do a war dance, incite us with the HAHA and cry like pissies, i am fast losing ALL my respect for that Nation of ……..
@ Rugby_Princess:
You are losing it GIRL this is not a fancy dress party, this stuff happens fast. His intention was maybe to slap him trough the face and in real time looked worse. If Rugby becomes a sissy sport like the bloody mommies in NZ wants i am glad that soccer is overtaking the game of men in New Zealand.
Ladies are making too much noise about the mans game. We used to feel proud if u could stand up after a proper fist and play on, what NZ want is show biz a great intimidating Haka and then the opponents must play nice.
Danie never wanted to hurt him with that action , if he wanted to hurt him the guy would not play on, it is part of the game. And the moment we allow this we are well on our way to the soccer fiasco, diving milking penalties etc.
Get to grips NZ, stop showing little incident go on with the game.
@ Rugby_Princess:
8
Sorry girl why not go watch netball, this is insulting real rugby men.
GBS dont remove my posts please, we must stop bending over for the All Blacks. They play the game as if the whole rugby world turns around them. refs favor them , they shout in our faces with the haka before a test. I will start a movement to ban the bloody thing if they can not face the music when they challenge the opponents.
Danie’s yellow was ridiculous to say the least.
If that action represents a kick then I’m happy he does’nt kick at goal for us…
The ball will hardly ever travel further than 5 or 6 metres !!!
@ Blouste:
Now they are showing a eye gouge incident, TV is going to ruin rugby in NZ.
That was not a gouge , if rugby is going the soccer way i will personally push a vuvuzela down McCaws …
😆
@ Rugby_Princess:
Cory Jane lost his footing and went down, Zane never went in high. You are clutching at straws. If you can’t be objective and admit that the ref wasn’t consistent then you have little knowledge of the game of rugby. I agree with superbul, kiwis are getting real soft and should rather go play soccer.
Blouste look what is said in the verdict of Jean de Villiers 2 week ban, they are pilling up the incidents against us almost like the ref did to Holland in the SWC final. To a point where you can not play your natural game because of fear in getting a red.
in our case we are all made criminals and we are doing nothing about it. That justice for Bakkies move is near. Getting a criminal record is the aim of the NZ against us. The slightest mistake leads to lengthy bans then. We must appoint a few video annalists to scrutinize the play of NZ. Any slight mis step must be hung high on a flagpole.
Come on everyone. Leave Rugby Princess alone. She does know plenty about rugby and one of our favourite bloggers here. Stop attacking our kiwi lady. Let us be sportsman here. ABs beat us we were not up to it yesterday. The ref was useless I know, but even with a decent ref we would never have won. The best team won and that was the ABs. Give credit where it is due. Our turn will come at Soccer City or is it called the National Stadium now?
Also they need to select right for the game against the Aussies and when our players come home. Some we thought were up to this level is not.
@ rugbybal:
Rugbybal i really feel we are rogered from behind now. Harsh words but if we dont stop this we will be run over. They use their Haka to incite and then play holy holy. Man if i were the Boks coach i would instruct the boys to turn their backs on them and give them a brown eye.
@ Puma:
Not chasing her away mr Diplomat. But sir the one team was allowed to play, the other not. END off story.
And like i said 21 points can be made up within minutes. We were supposed to take the lead in the 43 minute , if not for McCaws professional foul. The type of foul that cost us Bakkies for 10 minutes last week and you know the rest.
We were still in it there and then.
And i laugh in the face of the guys giving some of our Boks 3/10 ratings. if we were so poor the score would have been 50+ for the AB’s
@ superBul:19 – Super, Never seen you so mad (cross)…hehehe. Maybe when they do the haka we should stand there each with a vuvuzela and blow the damn thing straight back at em…….hehehe. They wont hear each other for the love of money. Zip nothing…..hehehe.
Ag, Super don’t worry about this now. We will get it right. We have injuries too. FdP and Juan is not there. JPP looked good last night for the Sharks. Actually Mvovo looked even better. Need better selections for the home games. Our Boks will deliver back home Super. Mark my words we will. Soccer City is sold out I see. The ref can cheat us but if we just get on and score more tries and play better no matter how much the ref is against it it wont matter. We need to play better too my friend.
Oosthuizen now leads by 5………HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAA.
Aggggggggggggggg Oosthuizen should have been 6 ahead there. Almost got that birdie. Just circled the whole and the ball rolled away. Damn. Anyhow he is playing great so far.
GO OOSTHUIZEN
Puma i hold thumbs for Oosthuisen, maybe he is less stressful than Ernie. Would be great for the young man to break through with a Major.
@ Puma:
21
what makes me cross is when we start blaming the wrong guys.
@ superBul:23 – Super, Me too really keeping my fingers crossed for a win for Oosthuizen. So pleased they are now pronouncing his name correct. Took all of 3 days to get it right. Some hardly knew who he was…..hahaha. Me too for that matter. Now he has made a impact here they wont forget even if he does not win it. I really, really hope he does though.
@ Puma:
must say i like his gap, Casey must attack and on this course it could be fatal. The others are miles behind.
@ superBul:24 – Super, I know and I see plenty blaming the wrong players. I take no notice of that. We know who is playing well and some are not cause of the ref not allowing them too. Remember these refs never reffed in the S14 so not sure why they were allowed to ref in the Tri-Nations. They were slowing our ball down plenty yesterday and getting away with it. It will get sorted once we get a better ref. BUT we also need to play better and we will. Hope that Juan can play when we return home. Not too impressed with Flo. Need Ruan to start at scrummie now that FdP is not there. Damn we miss FdP plenty. Like losing 3 players when he is out. Ruan is the next best and he should start next week. Our game was so much better with his quick delivery.
@ superBul:26 – Super, Just hope he keeps the nerves. I remember a few years back the American in the bunker near the end. It took him 7 shots to get out. His fault though was trying to be too clever. Also that French player trying to play out of the water, he took more than 3 shots and lost it. Instead of just taking a drop and playing from there. Don’t think Oosthuizen will be that silly, just needs to keep focused. What a great achievment it will be to win the Open. The greatest major in golf to win. So keeping the fingers crossed that Oosthuizen does not bogey any from here. He just needs to par from here and he will win it. Nothing fancy needed just concentrate. Very tough there in the wind and it is a tough course. Been there many years back.
Back later. Going to watch the rest of the Open now.
@ Puma:22 meant hole there.
Back later.
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