IRB referees boss Paddy O’Brien admitted that the decision to sin-bin Drew Mitchell for a late tackle on Richie McCaw was incorrect.

courtesy of Rugby Heaven

South African Cobus Wessels has been stood down as an assistant referee for Saturday’s rugby Tri Nations Test between the All Blacks and Australia, officials said today.

The decision to replace Wessels followed a review of his performance when the teams clashed in Melbourne last Saturday, the International Rugby Board (IRB) said in a statement.

IRB referees boss Paddy O’Brien admitted that the decision to sin-bin Drew Mitchell for a late tackle on Richie McCaw was incorrect.

Wessels had made the recommendation to match referee Craig Joubert in the first half although television footage later showed the decision to be a mistake.

“If anything, it’s lucky to be a penalty,” O’Brien said.

“McCaw offloads as he’s about to collide with Drew Mitchell, who puts his hands out and pushes him away. So there’s no way it’s a yellow card offence.

“As a result of that, with the second yellow, Australia went without a player for 30 minutes and that just shouldn’t have happened.”

“Cobus has been very understanding, he admits that he got it wrong and we’re not going to hang him out to dry. He’s got to go away and think about that, referee the Currie Cup and hopefully learn a lesson from it,” O’Brien said.

Mitchell went on to be shown a second yellow card for slowing down play after half-time, resulting in an automatic sending off, which cost Australia sorely in defence. The All Blacks went on to win 49-28.

New Zealander Keith Brown replaces Wessels in Christchurch but the selection of a non-neutral would not be a precedent for future Tests and was for logistical reasons, the IRB said.

45 Responses to Mitchell sin-binning wrong, IRB admits

  • 31

    “Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.”

    — New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard’s revolutionary rocket work, 1921
    (note that the day after Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, the New York Times printed a short boxed item on page 2. It read in full:
    “Errata: It has now been conclusively demonstrated that a rocket ship can travel through the vacuum of space. The Times sincerely regrets the error.”) 😆

  • 32

    some good advice though

    “I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fifty years. Two years later we ourselves made flights. THIS DEMONSTRATION OF MY IMPOTENCE AS A PROPHET GAVE ME SUCH A SHOCK THAT EVER SINCE I HAVE DISTRUSTED MYSELF AND AVOIDED ALL PREDICTIONS.”

    — Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer, speech to the Aero Club of France, 1908

  • 33

    ashley: hello
    echo: hello hello hello hello

  • 34

    @ Ashley:ha ha…sorry Ash I was away from the computer for a while so didnt see the replies til now.
    ja I hear what you’re saying mate, but by highlighting the problem in an unprofessional way our officials are making the problem bigger for South Africa. We must learn to keep a low profile and do our talking on the field…then if there is blatant discrimination against our team or players then raise it through the right channels. Wessels did not do us any favours with that sh!t call.

    do you work in the City by the way, I am going to be in the Cape in Sept for a couple days, I’ll be in the Franschoek area, perhaps we could meet up?

  • 35

    @ Ashley: Your opinion, but I dont agree with you.

  • 36

    4man @ 34,35
    😀 was pulling your leg bru
    of course theres guys who can, because of their background, be seen as experts in their particular fields
    and
    because of it are sometimes asked to make predictions …. most guys also get it right
    what i’ve posted was the worst of those who got it wrong
    😆

  • 37

    4man @ 35
    are you trying to tell me that you dont consider me
    as
    an
    enlightened
    blogger? 😀

  • 38

    ok
    from one enlightened being
    to
    the others
    ..
    cheers guys
    enjoy the rest of the evening!! 😆

  • 39

    @ Ashley:4 – Ash, Have to agree with you. Why do we still have Alain Rolland reffing us again after his really awful reffing when we played ABs? I mentioned this yesterday in the other “SA Ref taken off” thread. Really gets to me that we have to have the same ref that messed up in that game. Also we get all the NH refs and ABs/Oz getting all Saffa refs, all who reffed in the S14. Why we have got NH refs is a mystery to me.

  • 40

    Ashley wrote:

    4man @ 35
    are you trying to tell me that you dont consider me
    as
    an
    enlightened
    blogger?

    Ash I consider you as an emortional enlightened blogger 😉 nothing wrong with passion bru

  • 41

    @ Puma: My Sharks mate, because he is a good ref that doesnt like the rough stuff, we should understand that. We all hate him because of a couple of things that happened a while ago. But I must say I dont focus on the ref, I focus on what our guys are doing…and we HAVE NOT got our act together so far this tri nations, but we’ll reassess next week…time brings all things.
    this site is buggering me around today, I keep on having to re-acquire the site…theres nothing wrong with my broadband…GBS?

  • 42

    41@ 4man:
    Nothing wrong with the site, sammajoor…. ai flok toggie, julle ouballies sukkel darem!

  • 43

    @ grootblousmile:and now it sommer logs me out for no reason…its not me, its your site….en pasop, you owe this ouballie too much beer to chirp too much. P

  • 44

    43@ 4man:
    Error’s all your side… no problems, I repeat, no problems!

  • 45

    Ash watch this clip. It illustrates what we know, and paddy said nadda!

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