Having had a disturbed night’s sleep, and having blasted Romain Poite and his co-match officials here on Rugby-Talk, during and after the Rugby Championship match yesterday, it is fitting to have a look at what rugby analists, the rugby media here and abroad (including those from New Zealand), have to say.

Firstly, let’s look at the SuperSport media panel who sat during and after the match, with Nick Mallett (fromer Springbok coach) and John Mitchell (former All Blacks coach) the key ingredients here, augmented by Naas Botha (Former Springbok Captain) and Ashwin Willemse (former Springbok wing).

Both Mitchell and Mallett slammed referee Poite, point blank, so too Naas Botha and Ashwin Willemse.

Here’s a video exerpt of what these fine gentlemen had to say:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/LkptdOWWVIU[/youtube]

Similar lines of thoughts were forthcoming from the studio guests analising the match for the viewing public in Europe and in New Zealand.

Let’s have a look at the incident itself:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hm0HbjO01U8[/youtube]

Now what do the esteemed journalists, rugby scribes and players accross the world have to say about this?

Let’s start with South african scribes:

JON CARDINELLI (SARUGBYMAG.CO.ZA)
‘Poite’s decision was based on an overwhelming reaction from the partisan New Zealanders in the stands. The crowd wanted Du Plessis off, and Poite obliged. It was gutless, and one would think that Poite will have a lot to answer for when fronting his bosses next week.’

ZELIM NEL (INDEPENDENT GROUP – SA)
‘The French referee allowed the crowd of 48,000 – and millions of TV viewers – to witness an even contest for just 32 minutes at Eden Park before reducing the crunch Rugby Championship Test to a sham … Carter was buried in a tackle that was not only legal, but of rare, premium quality. The partisan crowd blew up in unfiltered outrage and convinced Poite to ignore repeated slow motion replays on the big screen that clearly showed the behemoth hooker had delivered a legal hit.’

GAVIN RICH (WEEKEND ARGUS – SA)
‘Referees these days appear to be far too quick to brandish cards, and they’re having a massive impact on results … No doubt rabid All Blacks supporters will be happy about what happened, but most sensible people from both sides will probably feel like I do – cheated. The All Blacks celebrations were surely rendered hollow by the knowledge that they were playing 15 against 14 for more than half the match, and if they watch the replay of the first Du Plessis incident, which the referee had a chance to do on the big screen, then they will know that he was sent off for a hard but textbook tackle.’

LOUIS DE VILLIERS (RAPPORT – SA)
‘Pwat. Só spreek jy Romain Poite se naam uit; daai klank wat ’n skeidsregter se bakkies seker sou gee as jy ’n dwarsklap teen sy smoel plant. ’Skies, dis ongeskik. Maar dié Franse ploert se fluitjie was die uitstaande kenmerk van gister se Toets in Auckland tussen Nieu-Seeland en Suid-Afrika om die Rugby-kampioenskap, ene wat die tuisspan met 29-15 gewen het.’

CRAIG RAY (SUNDAY TIMES – SA)
‘Actions have consequences and that decision [to give Du Plessis his first yellow card] had awful ramifications for the Boks later on. Poite’s sub-standard officiating will also have ramifications for the rest of the tournament as the Boks are now four points behind the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship standings. But it will almost certainly have no consequences for Poite’s refereeing career.’

DAN RETIEF (CITY PRESS – SA)
‘Poite’s shocking rulings, especially in the first half, robbed the Boks of the massive presence of their hooker Bismarck du Plessis for 48 minutes of the match and completely spoiled what might have been a spectacle.’

RUDI GELDENHUYS (RUGBY-TALK.COM – SA)
The result of the game remains a contrived result, with match officials clearly at fault and to blame. I do not say New Zealand, it’s rugby fraternity or supporters are complicit.
The result is a flawed one, that much is clear! A flawed result which stays etched in rugby history for ever, it is there, it is recorded, despite the fact that it is wrong and unjust!
I do not have to condone, respect or recognise such a blatent blight.
I watched the whole match again, I watched the replays of the incidents and I still cringe at the ineptness of not only the referee (as main culprit), but the lack of clear direction from the TMO and other match officials.
A travesty is what we witnessed! To condone it would be wrong.

Now over to what the New Zealand scribes had to say:

LIAM NAPIER  (FAIRFAX MEDIA – NZ)
‘The performance of French referee Romain Poite robbed the contest of its superstar status … Fed on a diet of spinach-flavoured biltong, Du Plessis is Popeye in disguise. Naturally, when Carter received a hospital pass and the big Boks rake simultaneously, he crumbled into a heap and slinked from the field with an AC shoulder injury that will keep him out of action for four to six weeks. The subsequent decision to sin-bin du Plessis, though, was a shocker. It was a legal tackle. Arms were used. Sense should have prevailed.’

WYNNE GREY (NEW ZEALAND HERALD)
‘The red card had a massive effect on the game. Adding to the significance of it all, Bismarck du Plessis was having an absolute stormer. There seemed to be two of him – he was all over the park but especially good in the tight stuff, winning a couple of crucial turnovers with his strength and timing. And he scored the Boks’ first try.’

MARK HINTON (SUNDAY STAR-TIMES – NZ)
He described Poite’s decision to dismiss du Plessis as “farcical” and said it tilted the match in the All Blacks’ favour.
“The hooker’s shoulder-charge on Carter looked dodgy, but replays showed the hit was legit and that referee Romain Poite had over-reacted big time,”

DAVID LONG (FAIRFAX MEDIA – (NZ)
The first yellow card “was an extremely harsh call on the Sharks No 2, as his tackle on Dan Carter was perfectly timed and legal”.
Former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick, in his Herald on Sunday column, said he also felt the tackle on Carter was legitimate.
He questioned why “a referee can have that much influence on a game with so much (video) technology available” to review the incident.

GREGOR PAUL (Herald on Sunday – NZ)
Carter was “fair game” and du Plessis had been onside, but he felt that the South African had deserved a red card for the second offence alone, when he rammed his elbow into the throat of Liam Messam.
“The first offence was not a yellow, although what Bismarck du Plessis did with his head looked bad. But the second offence was a straight red. Seriously bad.”

PATRICK McKENDRY (APZN – NZ)
How much effect did the red card have on the outcome?
A massive one. Adding to the significance of it all, Bismarck du Plessis was having an absolute stormer. There seemed to be two of him – he was all over the park but especially good in the tight stuff, winning a couple of crucial turnovers with his strength and timing. Scored the Boks’ first try.

Was the red card justified?
No, because his tackle on Dan Carter was legal. The spotlight for the decison to sin bin him must fall on referee Romain Poite, who appeared to dismiss the advice of his TMO George Ayoub. However, once back on the field, de Plessis should have reigned himself in a little. The elbow to the windpipe of Liam Messam wasn’t a good look.

What Rugby Players had to say:

DAN CARTER (TWITTER – NZ)
Nothing wrong with the tackle. Fell awkwardly and popped my AC joint #gutted #smashedembro.

FORMER ALL BLACKS CAPTAIN TAINE RANDELL (NZ)
Fans have been robbed of the crunch game of the year.
Writing in his column for Fairfax Media, Randell said: ‘Romain Poite’s officiating ruined last night’s Test between the All Blacks and the Springboks, a game between the world’s two best sides.
‘I am so disappointed with the way a number of controversial decisions, which still don’t make any sense to me, dictated the game.
‘Bismarck du Plessis’s yellow card for a legitimate tackle on Dan Carter was totally unfair, his second yellow which led to red was also marginal and as a fan I’ve not been able to watch the best of what we’ve got, against the best of South Africa.
‘Last night’s game was not decided on equal measure and at this level of the game, that is not acceptable.’

Leaves a totally rotten taste in the mouth, does’nt it?