The Lions’ comeback win against the Reds on Saturday night was nothing short of inspiring. It’s not so much what they’ve achieved but the manner in which they’ve achieved it, their weaknesses across the park not enough to keep this team down.
This is said respectfully as they could probably all be doctors and engineers, but in terms of rugby nous the Lions forwards have the collective brainpower of an adolescent Neanderthal. As an example, none have figured out that if the halfback isn’t there you need to alter your role from ‘stand over the ball’ to picking it up and passing it.
Basic decision-making across the park is ordinary, and perhaps the most amazing thing about this team is they manage to string together a fairly compelling effort, week after week, with no captain. Or if he’s there it’s not apparent, as you can see the players looking to the sideline for direction when penalties are awarded.
This wouldn’t be so bad if the mystery man on the sideline provided good direction. As it stands, they have a habit of taking the wrong option every time.
The decision maker may wish to keep an ear in the South African commentary box. The most balanced, insightful and entertaining commentary is generally found in South Africa, and these guys are real rugby aficionados.
Aside from the erratic decision-making, including going for the penalty goal after four dominant, penalty-inducing scrums on the Reds’ line, the Lions’ handling is atrocious. Their forwards struggle with the simple catch-pass from their mates, probably because they use their palms to catch the ball instead of their fingers, which is why they’re thin on the ground in terms of tries scored.
So how are they getting results?
This great team is built around the world’s best halfback and fly-half in Faf de Klerk and Marnitz Boshoff, two no-names who should be lighting up the stage in a green jersey come mid-season.
Forget Morne Steyn; Boshoff has kicked 38 from 40 this year, and added six field goals to score double what any other player in Super Rugby has managed.
Against the Reds at Ellis Park, we also witnessed a fine refereeing display by rookie South African Stuart Berry. He was charged with the task of controlling the game and in doing so took apart James Horwill’s men, who’ve been pinged more than any team this year and conceded 16 penalties on the night.
Horwill either has no control over his team or he’s driving this campaign to play past the edge of the laws. Either way, he’s not captain material.
The Reds take the view that if the ref sends a man to the bin for repeated professional fouls then they can keep doing it, as there’s no chance the ref will bin a second man in the space of a few minutes. But Berry did, ensuring the Reds had two men in the bin for the crucial final minutes of the game.
The mighty Lions attacked the try-line for the final quarter of the match and in the 78th minute finally managed to scrape over to go ahead 21-20. Boshoff did what he does and slotted the conversion from out wide to go three points ahead.
The Lions just needed to hold on for a late flurry from the 13-man Reds, who were deep into lions territory. They couldn’t give -away a single penalty; if they had, the game would have drawn, so they allowed the Reds to keep possession and make gains past the advantage line with every forward drive.
The Lions stuck to their mettle and eventually held the ball up in contact to kill the game and end with a famous win. A win they had no right to given they were down and out at 20-3 before scoring 20 unanswered points to claim victory.
The passionate fans, all 20,000 of them, all sang and danced. It was a great day for rugby.
The mad-hatter eccentrics and indelible spirit bring a synergy to this team and this year it’s coming together, with the team sitting fourth on the table. If you haven’t managed to watch them in 2014, set your box to record and give them a crack.
Loftus
Guest
Ag shame , now all the Aussies are up in arms about poor Mr Berry. What did you Aussies told us after the 2011 QF? Mmmmm, it s much different when the shoe is on the other foot. The only difference is that the QF which Bryce won you that day, only comes around every 4 years and was after all a World Cup knock out match. This match you re crying about was a round 6 Super 15 group game. Shame, hypocrites.
Pete
Guest
Spot on Peter K. A university study has proven that referees do in fact favour their home countries team... :)
Rod
Guest
I liked this article. I am from Queensland and am a supporter of many Queensland teams be it the Brisbane Lions (AFL), the Reds, Brisbane Broncos, the Bulls Sheffield Shield team etc. If a Lions supporter reads this article, they will know it was meant to be tongue in cheek and will emphasize what a hollow victory it was. Berry is a disgrace and should be banned for life after that performance.
Phil Bird
Roar Guru
Fair comment
David Baker
Guest
You do know that Phil is based in Sydney and supports the ABs? I suppose you have also figured out that Phil is taking the mickey out of South Africans in general? You seem to be giving SA credit for Phil PS -> Fair enough Phil, as long as the Aussies dont get tense when we give it back one day.
David Baker
Guest
Agreed RobC And I agree simplification is the key. We need more refs. We cannot even chuck one of our existing bad refs out for long because we need the numbers. What happens if other refs perform badly? Now SANZAR have known about the ref shortage for sometime now. It takes time to fix. If countries are not routing refs through schools, clubs, age group, provinces etc then there will never be the numbers to ref at the Super level Some countries are having more success than others at developing new refs BUT if we are going to fast track new refs we have to give them a first chances at the Super level and with these chance comes a risk of a bad game. So I am all for your suggestion.... subject to more refs coming through.
Kibz
Guest
Much like SA Commentators, and specifically Warren Brosnihan, this writer is absolutely clueless. I admire what Johan Ackermann has put together, less than 6 months from promotion to Super Rugby. I admire the Lions resilience and hard graft, and they took what was given, and kept fighting. BUT in no way whatsoever should any honorable mention be made of the reffing on the park. I am not a Reds supporter....fyi
Lions Fan
Guest
Not surprised you are blaming the referee for losing against the Lions after having been up by 17 points and then losing by 3 (and after having had two players sent off). I would have been looking for excuses too if my team had lost against the least experienced team in the tournament. This was a deserved victory that only a Lions surporter could truly appreciate. The Lions victory was all about heart and soul. They dominated the second half and had the Reds on the backfoot from the word go. Then the Reds tried to slow down the Lions' ball through illegal tacticts (an old favorite Aussie ploy) and got punished severely. Won't lie and say it was a beautiful victory with some close calls, but it was a gutsy win for the Lions and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Beware the mighty Lions!
RobC
Roar Guru
David, agree this solution is not short term. But I believe its the sustainable one. The key to success is to divide responsibility among a sufficient number of refs, so as to simplify their job. It will also enable players to play within the rules. And in long-term to change the rules to become more practical, over time. Simplification is key. If I were to use a historical analogy: - English won the Battle of Cressy vs French, because they used more longbowmen who used simple device which could be more rapidly deployed. - Likewise in the Meiji restoration, highly skilled and highly-trained Samurai were replaced by rifled infantry - to great effect This among other things are needed. But will take time to come to life.
RobC
Roar Guru
David
Guest
The link may have been on a NZ website but the article is from a SA website. Agree with Rob about more refs needed. Having said that we dont have enough refs at the moment so requiring more refs per game wont help BTW - The SA press has been very critical of Berry's performance. The SA posters are also critical. We just aint fanning the nationalistic, conspiracy... this time. Bring on Bryce Lawrence and you will set us off again. Perspective
Well one thing about Keo, he does like to call a spade a spade, problem with him though, he choses the issues that suits him and those that doesn't he keeps mum about.
RobC
Roar Guru
Yes, good article which points out the issue of governance. To this end, I think in general the game is too fast, complex and complicated for a single official in the middle and a couple of touchies to get right all the time. Rugby needs more refs per game, and research and development on how to uniformly officiate the game especially in BD, ruck and scrums.
RobC
Roar Guru
The winning throw: http://postimg.org/image/riq4tio0z/ Looks straight: into Lions side :)
Pete
Guest
This is an excellent article i found on a NZ website... Sorry to hijack your article Phil but this is how i feel... http://www.bdlive.co.za/sport/rugby/2014/03/24/biased-referees-must-face-the-music-before-the-match-not-after
Hi Pete, I agree with you on neutral referees, at the end of the day we want any perceived bias to be removed, Since the start of Super Xv the powers that be decided they would use "home town referees" wherever possible to save costs. That is how I understood it, but when you consider Lourens v d Merwe for example flew to Australasia during the week to officiate there, why could he not fly a week earlier? Competency is of course another issue that needs to be dealt with ( example the Argentine referee). But I do believe the major issue here is law interpretations and clarity of the laws, they need to be less complicated.
Pete
Guest
Well said BBB. I watched the entire game at 1am in the morning before I started work at 7am so it was a sleepless night... I couldn't watch the last ten minutes of the game even tho we were ahead because it was simply very biased. Berry must have been spoken to at half time because he was very fair and communicated well in the first half and then for the entire second half only reffed one team! Berry may or may not be sanctioned but the reds will never get the points back and their season is theoretically over. The issue i have is that it was a SA ref and a SA team. Even tho i don't believe a ref is biased there is a perception they are and this must be nullified by appointing neutral referees. I get your point about hometown referring meaning that the team playing at home has an advantage but that is simply the home ground advantage. I also watched the game with the Argentinian ref and he was absolutely appalling, but just lacking referring skills. Berry on the other hand doesn't lack the skills to be a good ref so therefore the second half performance but have been biased. If the reds were playing a NZ team and Berry was the ref then I would think that he was just incompetent. The thing is, and this is what makes rugby such a great sport, is that even if Berry reffed the game fairly the Lions still may have won. The reds werent playing very well in the second half but they were hamstrung (sorry Gill) by the ref! They werent allowed to play rugby and the two decisions with the scrum and lineout were diabolical. Please can SANZAR act quickly because the more we all talk about this the more the game is tarnished..
David
Guest
I am not a Lions supporter btw. I understand why the Reds fans are peeved. I would be to. After the WC 2011 QF did the Aus supporters take their win and shut up? Or did they tell SA fans to suck it up?
Pete
Guest
Phil this article is a real kick in the pants for the reds supporters you have to understand. If I were a Lions supporter I would be embarrassed about the win and would just take the points and not mention it again, unfortunately neither team can take anything away from this game. It was an absolute farce with Berry committing professional suicide on the field that no Reds supporter will ever forget. This game hurt more than the absolute thumping the Bulls gave us a few years ago. In saying that the Lions have a big heart and I would like to see them do well. But I will never chortle on about an unfair victory.
David
Guest
@Chivas - Analyzing your comment for a second You say last year SA posters complained and now we are dismissive (I paraphrase)? Now you guys are complaining and last year you were dismissive? Yet only SA posters are hypocritical? Surely if we are hypocritical so are you? I have no issue with the allegation of incompetence... there has been some. Proving deliberate or sub conscious bias... thats another thing