I’ve tried to find words to be highly critical of the refereeing of George Clancy in the Australia – England Test at Twickenham in a polite fashion but, dammit, let’s be brutally frank: Clancy, his assistant referees and the TMO had absolute shockers.
Between them they made small and big mistakes, and a couple of massive mistakes that led directly to England’s two tries. Unfortunately, too, virtually every mistake penalised the Wallabies.
With the score tied 13 – 13, for instance, Quade Cooper put up a bomb deep inside the England 22. Israel Folau (who played splendidly) raced through, jumped – and was penalised by the referee for taking out the catcher. Folau jogged back into position shaking his head in bewilderment.
There was no replay of the incident which seemed uncannily like a similar incident and decision made by Clancy in the England – New Zealand Test last year at Twickenham against Keiran Read who was, like Folau, bewildered by the decision.
Neither Clancy or his assistant referees spotted the invariable boring-in tactics of Mako Vunipola, even though there were many scrums right by the sideline.
The first six scrums of the Test ended with a short-arm or long-arm penalty to England. The astonishing thing about this is that the Wallaby scrum was rock-solid when England did scrum straight.
Up 13 – 6 the Wallabies won a penalty. Matt Toomua belted the ball to within 5m of the England try line. It was a long and potentially match-winning kick. The assistant referee had time to get into the field of play to watch Mike Brown, with his feet on the touchline catch the ball and set up a counter attack.
From this vantage point, and about 15m away, the assistant referee somehow did not see that Brown was in touch. How could the assistant referee make this massive mistake?
Then England surged over the halfway mark. A pass went palpably forward right under Clancy’s eyes. The attack swept on and Marland Yarde was bowled over in the Wallabies corner. From the lineout, Will Genia had his kick charged down. Chris Robshaw picked up the ball and forced his way across for a try, which was converted: 13 – 13.
This was a potentially 14-point turnaround, if the assistant referee had made the correct decision and awarded the 5m lineout near England’s try line to the Wallabies.
Go forward now to the second half. England are mounting a series of attacks inside the Wallabies 22 but are going nowhere. Owen Farrell is standing deep, perhaps in anticipation of a field goal attempt. He gets the ball on the run, looks to pass and then notices a huge gap where Stephen Moore is supposed to be defending.
Roll the tape. Dylan Hartley, a noted smart-arse offender, cyncially moves in front of Moore deliberately blocking his progress across to the hole that Farrell is running through. It’s a try but the Clancy goes to the TMO for confirmation.
Numerous reruns show that Hartley has moved to block or obstruct Moore in making the tackle. It is so obvious that the UK rugby site PlanetRugby suggests that this is its ‘Villain of the Match’: ‘The minor block from Dylan Hartley was clearly obstructive. When has not enough obstruction been a thing?’
This last point is a reference to Clancy’s remarkable observation to the TMO before he gave his decision that there had been obstruction but ‘not enough.’ Why would Clancy try to pre-empt the TMO in his decision?
The point is that obstruction is a strict liability infringement. You can no more obstruct but ‘not enough’ than be a little bit pregnant.
Obstruction on a tackler is obstruction. The remedy is to penalise the player indulging in the obstruction. Hartley should have been penalised and should have been a candidate for a yellow card for a professional foul.
Before those Roar readers who like to accuse me of pig-headed ignorance of the laws get on their high horses, I’d suggest they google The Obstruction Law in rugby union.
When I did this before writing this, the first article that came up was The Evolution of the Obstruction Law which apparently was a ‘major project’ by James Leckie, who is an Australian Test referee.
Leckie goes through the Law Books since 1881 to document the actual wording and development of the Obstruction Law.
It is mentioned, he writes, in 1881 and by 1897 the infringement is being dealt with penalties and free kicks.
In 1908, the year of the first Wallabies tour of the UK, obstruction is ‘first recognised’ as foul play.
By 1955, the law on obstruction had evolved to the point where the notes for guidance of referees say this: ‘An offside player wilfully running or standing in front of another of his team who is in possession of the ball, thereby preventing an opponent from reaching the latter player, should be penalised for obstruction.’
This is exactly what Hartley did.
In his discussion on the law of obstruction and its interpretation in recent years, Leckie (a current Test referee remember) says this: ‘The simple fact of the matter is that if a player, who is in front of a ball-carrying team-mate gets in the way of a defender, who is trying to get to the ball, ball-carrier or possible ball-carrier, then he/she should be penalised for obstruction, if no advantage follows. If this is still too confusing, referees can think to themselves the following: In a possible obstruction scenario, who has initiated contact? If it is the attacker, then obstruction has occurred, and if it is the defender then obstruction has not occurred.’
Hartley clearly broke the obstruction law. I cannot understand how two officials, the TMO and Clancy, could have come to the decision they did.
I would argue, too, that the way Hartley deliberately moved across Moore constitutes a professional foul, with the possibility of a yellow card.
I believe that the chief executive of the ARU Bill Pulver and the chairman of the board Michael Hawker should insist that Clancy, at least, be relieved of Test duties for the forseeable future.
His decision effectively ended the Wallabies chances of defeating England and remaining on track for the first Australian rugby Grand Slam since the glory days of 1984.
The Wallabies are now facing a reverse Grand Slam, a Grand Slammed, with possible losses to the other Home Unions unless the team can pick up its morale and standards starting next week with the Test against Italy.
What the Test showed me, too, is that the gamble of making Ben Mowen the Wallabies captain and the former vice captain (just joking!) Quade Cooper the vice-captain did not work.
The problem is that Mowen is not a Test quality captain, especially when he plays at number 8. He doesn’t push in the scrums but pops his head up immediately the ball goes in, like a meercat, thereby putting enormous pressure on the front five to hold the scrum solid and firm.
He is virtually never seen around the field and is a player who seems to play below rather than above his weight.
It was interesting that James Horwill, the lineout caller for the Test, called himself most of the time (successfully) and hardly called Mowen or the other jumpers. Horwill actually played well.
When Rob Simmons called the lineouts at Dunedin against the All Blacks, he called himself and Mowen and did not call Horwill.
What does one make of this? Not a good sign of a strong team culture, in my opinion.
The demotion didn’t seem to do much for Cooper in lifting his game. He was good but subdued. His missed penalty early on in the second half was a crucial factor in the outcome of the Test.
Genia, though, seemed to be a shattered shell of a player who until recently was rated the best half-back in world rugby. My understanding is that he had hopes on leading the Reds and the Wallabies. But under McKenzie, Genia is a marginal starter whereas with Robbie Deans he was always the first choice when he was available. This rebuff seems to have crushed his spirit.
The Wallabies, the players and the coaching staff, have to get their act together in a hurry for the Test against Italy, and for the remaining Tests.
In my opinion, they were treated badly by the refereeing in the Test against England. But as Alan Jones used to tell his players after Test losses (rather less frequent for his players, of course, than under McKenzie): ‘The dogs are barking but the caravan moves on.’
Finally, the Wallabies might learn a lesson about commitment from Richie McCaw. In the 81st minute of the Test against Japan, with the All Blacks leading 54 – 6, McCaw came across towards the corner flag like an Exocet missile to smash a Japanese player into touch and prevent him from scoring a try.
That is the sort of commitment the Wallabies need to show from now on in a tour that has started disastrously, and could continue in a similar fashion unless some true gold courage comes to the fore.
Julia Gillard
Guest
Yes. spiro spouts an awful ot of garbage doesn't he though but!
joeb
Guest
"Losing the 5 metre line out hurt them badly." Very. :( Toomua's touch finder was inspirational, but alas.
Emmet
Guest
Hartley had taken that line before Moore moved to tackle Farrell, even before that phase of play began. It's perfectly legal. Where Clancy was terrible was at the scrums where Vunipola was driving in at an angle.
Pete
Guest
Thanks for the perspective jacko. I feel much better that us australians arent being too silly and I feel bad for you Irish rugby fans!!
Jacko
Guest
We in Ulster have the huge misfortune to be referred by Homer 'Clowncy' on a monthly basis. There isn't an Irish rugby fan who thinks he's fit enough to referee a Wednesday afternoon pub game. He is appalling. The Aussie scrum should have won 4 or 5 full penalties but Clancy starts every game with preconceived ideas. In a recent game between Leinster and Ulster in Dublin, he blew the final whistle as Leinster attacked the line in a last ditch attempt to win. Naturally, the Ulster players celebrated and began to shake hands with their opponents.. Clancy had spent the game trying to ensure a Leinster win. A Leinster player then claimed that they had grounded the ball. Despite the game being over, Clancy then went to the TMO in a final desperate effort to see Leinster home. You get the drift here I'm sure. However, bad as he is, there is one Irish official who is even beyond the hopeless level set by 'Clowncy.' Step forward Dudley Phillips, the so called assistant ref who ignored the English player's feet being on the line. Dud by name and dud by ability. We were flabbergasted when we saw he had been promoted to international level. You guys have no idea really the pure muck these guys inflict on us week in and out.
Old Bugger
Guest
JP Not to say I know the rules but I thought that a ball kicked into touch remains a live ball until (a) it lands on the ground (b) hits a non-playing person or (c) hits the surrounding infrastructure. Where it crosses the line is deemed to be where the ball went out of play which then becomes the location where play is re-started with a lineout. Touchies will always follow the balls flight path on kicks for touch to determine this location.
Richard
Guest
Unfortunately the frequency of refereeing decisions, that appear to have a homeside bias, seems to be increasing particularly when the poms are involved. I can almost guarantee we will see even worse refereeing decisions when they play the AB's. Hopefully the AB's will be good enough to beat England AND the officials!
AlanKC
Guest
Losing the 5 metre line out hurt them badly.
soapit
Guest
that will make it easier to ignore you. cheers
Wozza
Guest
Bennelong, I think your criticisms of McKenzie are valid but whats that got to with your opening comment about the teams the coaches inherited
USrugger
Guest
Spiro! The one-eyed monster!! No doubt... LOL!
RobC
Guest
I thought WBs didn't look ragged and seemed to repel English well. In fact the Poms looked lost: at the time Farrell had a dart, every WB defender was lined up. They had more defenders than attackers. English has one tired loiterer to the left and right of Mowen. English forwards barring #8 #5 were ordinary. Backs played poorly and defended even worse. Nowhere near the form when they smashed NZ
JP
Guest
Moore too selfish a player to make captain
JP
Guest
Moore too selfish a player to make captain
JP
Guest
It made it look worse because Moore was checked by the obstruction
JP
Guest
It made it look worse because Moore was checked by the obstruction
Mike
Guest
Again, looking back over the game, it appears to me that the turnaround in the game came about five minutes before Farrell's try, and WBs made a number of mistakes that led up to it: Shortly after the 50 minute mark, Australia wins a line-out and then puts together some very good phases, with Kuridani and Toomua both getting well over the advantage line. So far so good, but then a ruck developed which sucked in a good half-dozen players from either side with the ball loose. It was evenly matched, but there came a point where the Wallabies just stopped feeding players into the ruck. McCalman was the only player still standing, with two English players, and they pushed him back and took the ball. This really looks like a case of lack of Wallaby initiative at the breakdown – I wonder if they discussed this eventuality at training? It will happen sooner or later, and I can't see the All Blacks or Boks just standing there while they only have one man left on his feet in a ruck. Anyway, whatever the reason, England now had the ball. They tried a couple of phases which didn't really go anywhere, but then Farrell did a truly brilliant kick in behind our backs. From his own half, the ball rolled into touch 5 metres from our try line. At first I thought Cummins was at fault for being too far up, but his position is not that bad, its just a great kick. Cummins and Folau are desperately running right behind the ball as it goes over the sideline. Now England really apply the pressure. They look a different team to the first half. We get the ball from the line-out, but we are under pressure and after a couple of phases near our own line Toomua kicks for touch and gets to about 25 metres. England win the ball off their throw but this time they don't bother with a rolling maul. They start passing and hitting it up. England go through 13 phases within our 22, and they really mix it up - sometimes pick and go, other times around the corner, other times a longish pass from the base of the ruck. Perhaps that is why we are never able to win a turnover – England always get one more body to the ruck than they need, even a couple of times when the ball gets loose. By the time Farrell runs through to score the try, the Wallabies are looking pretty ragged.
Mike
Guest
Looking back, Wallabies didn't play badly, and they put together some good attacking plays. The talent and building blocks are there, but yet again we can't put it together in terms of winning a game against quality opposition. Some examples: * At about the 29th minute, Cooper opened up the defence with a nice cut out to Folau who ran the ball well into the England 22. About 4 phases later, Genia put Toomua over for our try. * Just before half time, England formed a rolling maul from their line-out, and it looked very dangerous. It was eventually brought down by Ben Mowen who forced his way through the maul to pull down the ball carrier. England players were calling to the ref, and on Sky you can here the ref yelling back, "He's legal, he's legal". I have criticised Mowen (and he deserves it) but full credit to him for this one. * At about the 45th minute, a nice cut out pass from Toomua to Kuridrani, who throws off a defender then off-loads to AAC. Two-fathers grubber kicks down the side-line. It’s a great kick which turns the defenders around. As AAC chases, Yarde shoulders him out of the way. English commentators expect Yarde to get binned, but touchie says its not quite to that degree, so WBs just get a penalty.
Mike
Guest
A comment about Brown's foot on the line – I think McKenzie's comment about a 90 metre turnaround is difficult to justify, when one looks at the elapsed time between the incident and the try, and the numerous intervening plays: I watched the English commentary and it does not appear that anyone was aware at the time that Brown had stepped out. The Brit commentators weren't (although they quite fairly replayed it later when brought to their attention, and they agreed that he was definitely out and England got a let off this time) and it didn't look like any of the players on either side were aware. Brown managed a pretty good return run, dodging a couple of Wallaby chasers, but he was still brought down well inside the English half. Poms then attacked for four phases, and basically got nowhere, so someone kicked. It went a moderate distance, Folau took it and ran it up to half way. At that point, England got a ruck penalty, but it was their play next which made the difference – They took a quick tap, didn't get too far on that, but they shuffled the ball quickly out along the line. They looped around Cooper, Genia and Kuridrani and then sent Yarde running down the sideline. He almost scored before AAC did his great try-saving tackle to push him out about 5 metres from the try-line. At that point play stopped for almost five minutes while Scott Fardy was attended to. He was put in the precautionary neck brace, loaded on to the electric meat wagon and then driven slowly off. Everyone got into position for the line out but play couldn't start until the ambulance cart was off the field. When play resumed, it was an Australian throw to a line-out on their own 5 metre line (i.e. where AAC pushed Yarde out 5 minutes before). England almost won the lineout – I think it was Robshaw and he contested strongly with Mowen in the air. It looked like he got a hand to it and the ball dropped practically in the line-out. Horwill went to ground on the English side of the ball to protect it. Genia sized up the situation, and then for some unknown reason picked up the ball and tried a box kick. He didn't have much room and its difficult to see what he was going to gain from it except to hand back possession to England inside the Australian 22, or give England an attacking line-out. Toomua was sitting back waiting for the ball. Whatever Genia's thinking, a wall of about three England players jumped high, the ball was charged down, bounced off McCalman and dribbled out the side where an England player pounced on it and scored. One of the English commentators put it well: "You can't say they deserved it, but sometimes you just take your luck when it comes"!
bennalong
Guest
Wozza Your assertion that McKenzie inherited a "far worse team" than Deans is absolutely bizarre. That team beat the AB's and tied with them last season Our record against the 'Boks was fantastic. I had a great respect for Link but his player management appears dodgy, and his choice to give Genia a different five eight after talking up QC was bizarre and ill conceived His idea to include so many newbies was also weird with no time before 2 Bledisloes. I blame the ARU for not leaving Deans in charge for the RC (and seeing how O'Connor faired given a bit more time) but Mogg must be shattered. Genia might have some other issues but he hasn't been any good since EM took over! Why? I asked above, please tell me why the scrum has faired so poorly and why our patterns of foreward play have deteriorated. Why has Benn Robinson been so harshly treated? Nope, EM has a lot of fixing to do but a fair bit of it is of his own makinging