Momentum is one of the most important factors in sport. Often, a player or team will be dominant for part of a match, and then totally outplayed at other times.
It is rare that a team or player is dominant for the entirety of match.
The fact that so many best-of-five sets tennis matches go to the full five sets prove this. One would expect that the majority would be won in straight sets, or perhaps a player would lose the first set, switch into gear and win the next three. However, a large number go the distance.
What matters is how much a player or team makes their momentum count. Will they turn their momentum into a large number of points, or squander their chances?
Because of tennis’ unique scoring system, it is easy to mentally reset at the end of a set. Even if you lose it 6-0, at the end of the set you and your opponent are back at 0-0, and the dominance your opponent had means nothing.
It is much harder in a sport with a more conventional scoring system, such as rugby or soccer, to find periods where momentum can easily be swung – perhaps halftime is the only clear example.
This brings me to the Super Rugby clash between the Rebels and the Waratahs.
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Eighteen minutes in, the Waratahs were up 7-6, but committed seven penalties in a row when defending in their 22. Referee Angus Gardner had warned the Tahs multiple times about their cynical offences, and given a yellow card to Tolu Latu for going off his feet at the breakdown.
At this point, Dean Mumm committed another cynical offence, holding onto the ball for an extended period of time while on the ground. The Rebels scored soon afterwards, turning their momentum into points.
About ten minutes later, Michael Hooper made a break, before throwing a pass about a metre and a half forward to Nick Phipps. The Waratahs scored off this play, and completely turned the momentum of the match.
From this point onwards, the momentum was largely with the home side – aside from a brief period in the second half – who put on a fantastic attacking performance and raced away to win the match 50-23.
Some may say that because of the emphatic nature of the victory, the poor refereeing decisions by Gardner at the 20 and 30-minute mark made no difference to the outcome.
However, this overlooks the importance of the momentum shift. Playing with 14 men in rugby is tiring and difficult; playing with 13 men, exponentially more difficult.
Had Mumm been yellow carded – as he should have been, given Gardner’s multiple warnings to Hooper – the Waratahs would have had to play with 13 men for almost ten minutes. This would undoubtedly have tired them more, and have been a mental blow, as well as provided a rush of motivation to the Rebels.
If the try scored by Hooper’s forward pass had been reviewed, the Rebels would have had a scrum feed in a decent position and NSW may never have gained momentum.
The purpose of this article is not to say that the Waratahs did not necessarily deserve the victory, but to show that the two refereeing decisions made by Gardner had a far greater impact on the match than a mere seven-point swing. The Waratahs would not have been able to score the remainder of those 50 points if they had not had the momentum from the time of Phipps’ try.
Congratulations to the Waratahs for turning around the momentum after such a diabolical start. That being said, rugby really needs to introduce a system by which teams can refer decisions to the TMO, as tennis does with the Hawkeye challenge system.
Having such a system may well have prevented the Waratahs from gaining the momentum, and may even have turned the result in the Rebels’ favour.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
If it's a 2nd yellow card they do!
mzilikazi
Guest
Good that you got to study at Trinity. Lot of my friends studied there ........I was at Queen's in Belfast. Actually played my last game of rugby on College Park inside Trinity. T'was the day after Ireland played England...in the seventies. Just a knock about game....Trinity North v Trinity South. So with not enough true North Trinity guys, I filled in........marked Michael Gibson, the Irish forward, in the lineouts.....did not do well at 6ft 2 against his 6ft 5 or more. But a good experience. Actually I see Trinity is the oldest continuous club in existence in the world.......something to be proud of ! Yes, not good to see Leinster fall. Don't forget in dealing with these Kiwi guys to remind them that their first captain, Dave Gallagher, was born in Ireland....Rathmelton in Donegal !
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
I've been upset by Leinster's recent capitulations though. Lived in Dún Laoghaire for a while, and my father grew up there and most of my family are back in Leinster (although some are up north in Monaghan and others down in Co. Clare), and by god were they livid. Dad was back in Ireland for it and even went to the match...
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Cheers, mate. Haha despite growing up in Aus all of my Irish cousins are still horrified when I tell them that I support the Wallabies over Ireland. And oh yes, Ireland's win over England was the most beautiful thing I've felt in rugby since perhaps the World Cup final. I still remember back in 2015 when I was studying at Trinity, I was with my housemates, one of whom was Irish the other English, along with his English friends, and the English guys telling me, completely unequivocally, that there was zero chance of Ireland beating England, or of any team but England or perhaps New Zealand winning the World Cup. "England won't lose this match, we're probably the second best team in the world and almost on par with the All Blacks. Since we're playing at home I'll be very surprised if we don't win the World Cup". Oh how well did those two predictions turned out :P . Hopefully it is the same in 2019...
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
I agree with you that some sets in tennis are very close and a player may have just snuck through it without either player having much momentum. What I was trying to say was that tennis' unique scoring system means that there is a reset after every set so that it doesn't matter if you lost 7-6 or 6-0, that's in the past and you both start again at 0-0, thus providing the perfect opportunity to turn the momentum if the opponent has it. You don't have that in rugby or soccer, if you're 7-6 down in rugby the match is still close, but if you're 10-0 or 14-0/21-0 down (the rough equivalent of 6-0?) then you're so far behind that it is extremely, extremely difficult to turn it around. Not so in tennis if you lose the first set 0-6. You wouldn't believe how common it is for a player will win the first set 6-0 or 6-1 and then go on to lose the next set and match.
taylorman
Roar Guru
You seem to be saying that it's a reasonable assumption the winner of a first set has momentum. 7-6 no, 6-0 yes so it depends on how that set plays out. A 7-6 set is akin to 7-6 in football after 20 minutes, not that that's likely to happen but with a large amount of time left, both are still in with a good chance.same with a 7-6 first set win with up to four sets left. But a 6-0 football score after twenty minutes is definitely momentum gained, despite a lot of time left. So a close first set is a completely different advantage than a 6-0 one in terms of momentum gained.
Fionn
Guest
Sorry, I'm not quite certain what you mean?
taylorman
Roar Guru
Don't really get the tennis analogy. I think five sets are there because of the opposite reason. One set isn't enough to get enough momentum in most cases. All a set needs is one break, or a tie breaker to win it so just as much of the time the two are still in a very winnable position. So I don't think the momentums there at all in a close fought set. If anything it inspires the other to fight even more. But if the first set is won 6-0 then yes, momentum has been gained quickly enough and the stats will show that by far more 6-0 sets will result in a win in less than five sets.
cuw
Guest
there are tv referrals in wrestling ( the geco-roman kind). there are many in cricket in fencing now in footy in England called "goal line tech". in badminton in beach volleyball and volleyball. its the future
Gepetto
Guest
TMO's intervene when the Referee seems to be in good position to see what's going on, but the touch judges seemed to do little in the Rebels/ Tahs game. When the Reds played the Chiefs the Kiwi TMO made some decisive calls in the first half, then he stopped because his work was done. I can't believe none of the three on ground officials saw the forward pass. They don't want to be seen contradicting their mate in the middle or were they too slow to keep up? The TMO should have spoken up. Everyone wants to see a fair contest (except Phil Kearns).
The Sheriff
Guest
Gibson should have benched him. He only got caught for a few of his silly actions off the ball and around the ruck.
mzilikazi
Guest
I did not see this game, so can't comment really. but I still enjoyed reading your article, Fionn. Agree re momentum, and the great significance of some refereeing decisions. Also am interested by your tennis comments ....you obviously love the game !. So, were you actually born in Ireland ? Though I am now Australian, I was born in Ulster. To my Irish cousins chagrin, I now support the Wallabies against Ireland...but the green jersey still stirs my soul too. So, so much enjoyed the defeat of England
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Phipps: if he ever appears in Gold again, I will be supporting the other side. Enough is enough. Ditto Mumm. This cannot be allowed to continue. Yup. Foley will have a much better 9 and a much better forward pack as well as outside backs in the Wallabies than he does at the Tahs though.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
I thought Skelton was really good for his 50 minutes, he was getting over the advantage line, breaking tackles and even offloaded once or twice. I don't like to praise either of them, and Cheika putting either of them in Gold would give me an aneurysm, but Skelton had a great game for his 50 minutes. Again, though, they're playing against the Rebels. Timani wasn't that bad at all.
Neil
Guest
James, I did check to make sure my heart was still beating when I agreed with Mumm getting the Australian team button as I’m rarely inclined to accept he does a good job. However, apart from his abject stupidity in the first 15-20 minutes of the game, I thought he actually played extremely well. He certainly played better than either of the two Force locks, both of whom I rate as Australia’s best and it would be fair to say the Rebels don’t have a decent line-out combination (Timani is a shadow of 2016) which is why Simmons seemed to play well last week, but hopefully not well enough to be included in any Wallaby squad. I do have to give credit where it is due and, despite missing a couple of tackles, at least he was proactively trying to close down the Rebels attack, I don’t recall him getting another penalty after the first 20 minutes. Skelton played well, but again he played for 50 while Mumm played for 80.
Jimbo81
Guest
Tahs think they can win in NZ! No chance. And if the likes of Phipps / Foley are incapable of beating a kiwi provincial side, what hope with them steering the Wallabies around? Worrying to hear Latu becoming a penalty magnet. He is the heir apparent at Hooker. Moore cannot be selected again: just limiting the development for 3019 of another player. Phipps: if he ever appears in Gold again, I will be supporting the other side. Enough is enough. Ditto Mumm. This cannot be allowed to continue.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Mumm missed tackles and gave away other penalties. he was below average. Skelton and Arnold for starters played a lot better on the weekend.
jameswm
Roar Guru
No I didn't. Smith would be ahead of McMahon right now anyway. I'd have him 2nd and Faingaa 3rd, close to Alcock. Hodgson with those two too I guess, but Georgie ahead.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
My mistake PK - meant yellow card. :)
Neil
Guest
Well put, Paul D. Sometimes bias can be the undoing of what might have been a worthwhile article. I was at the game, and raged against the stupidity of Mumm at the time, however, except for that bias it might have been apparent that he lifted his game enough that he was picked in the Team of the Week. The Tahs did themselves no favours with their early ill discipline and they got the thin edge of the refs' decisions on a number of occasions.