If you have watched the video with an open mind you would have heard him clearly saying that he is sure that there was Bok infringements as well. His main gripe was consistency – that the rules were unevenly applied. All his footage was in support of that claim.
His reason for putting himself at odds with WR is the SLOW and archaic feedback system.
But it will go over heads again, waste of time this…

Best summation of US politics and the funniest. Made me laugh, thanks.

I think the ‘used to be better’ was before the game was analyzed to death, regulated to death and got too complicated for a single ref to satisfactorily handle. Maybe this situation was in some way inevitable and true professionalism (by that I mean effective refereeing) for Union should come to refereeing as well. I would like to see WR has in its next statement also a review/overhaul of its systems like more refereeing participation from linesman and TMO.
American rugby has much less refereeing pains from its fans as their refs have a much better system of checks and balances. Time for WR to take a leaf out of their playbook and use an opportunity like this to further the game.
I, for one, wont want to see one ref having such an impact in the outcome of a game such as happened to AB’s 2007. If it happened then, it can happen now. Would be great if an independant review can be had of this aspect as well

The title “Springboks victory surge vindicates Erasmus…”
and
“O’Keeffe will be delighted how, just like Berry the week before, his performance had no bearing on the result”
seem to be at odds with one another. Can you please enlighten?

I am wondering Carlos, as an old head on refereeing you did see the need to coach the captains. Do you think that maybe Berry, as the youngest ref in RWC’s so far lacks that experience and his decision making was a bit clouded by overconfidence/arrogance?

You must not take Neutral’s moniker too seriously….

Boks really missed Vermeulen. Until he is back, forwards need to think out of the box. Wiese is not the answer.

So many thoughts running through my head when you mention rugby and ANC in the same sentence.

What started under Mandela looked promising but his successor Mbeki started turning the screws. Communist ideologies wrapped in Chrismast paper promised everything and delivered very little. That little got vacuumed by his successor Zuma and his successor Ramaphosa tries to get the horribles back in Pandora’s box. All in the name of transformation…

My family that could, the clever ones, left for Aus and the US long time ago.

Our economy is creaking badly, the barbarians are at the gates with disinterested police watching on (these are the good ones, the others looted)

How rugby survived is beyond me… oh yes, it hasnt, all our talented players are poached. Our much vaunted Bulls team bar a few big names couldnt make a dent in a noodle.

Will those caught in the crossfire remember this years Lions tour?
EVERY morning I drive by a queue going around the block of people sitting/standing waiting for their handout from Government.
Do they think about rugby? They tell me of gunshots at night, a regular occurance.
A colleague has lost two friends in the last week to Covid. I did a month ago.
I didnt have the guts to ask them today what they thought of the game. It didnt felt right….

There is another angle to consider why winning the first game is so important.

It seems this is the toughest tour for Gatland ever. Lions players were chosen, among other things, with Covid isolation protocols in mind or to put it more plainly, the more ‘positive’ guys were chosen that would be able to endure isolation on top of other dissapointments like losing or losing their spot on the team.

Already the Lions team for the first test was leaked although Gatland said it was not 100% correct, he is peeved enough to short-circuit the normal procedure and inform the players and media directly.
Also a Lions coach admitted their player choices differed quite a lot from Gats, they had to roll with his’ as he is the headcoach. Doesnt sound like a united camp apart from the leak that has caused tensions already.

Lose the first test and it just gets that bit harder, the fun and smiles on tour becomes strained and morale drops just enough that every one is on edge. Lose badly and it will bite much harder.

The Boks might not have all the WC players back due to their Covid return to play policy which is a lenghty process. It seems they could only be playing in the second test.
AWJ may have it easier…

Nice read.

Filthy little war was that second one. Wife’s great grandma and kids were in one of them consentration camps, near Colesburg.

British officers pissing on them, broken glass in the food.

Doesnt take us Boers much to get up for a nice little pow-wow with the Poms & kie.

Read up some about that war the other day. Quite a few mercenaries joined on the Boer side. They were not trusted and fought in the foreign units. They came from everywhere, all over the Isles and as far as Russia. Out of thankfulness, the Boers did not give them citizenship. Not a trusting lot we are…

Not too sure about Kitshoff, had only one good scrum before Marler came on to steady the English scrum in WC final. When they blew us apart in the one after that, it was on Kitsie that the scrum hinged until his foot slipped. Much more parity in the scrums thereafter, nobody got the upper hand.
Not saying he is suspect, but he is no Beast. Not yet anyway…

I think the Boks will win another WC or two before rugby administrators realise that without their overseas players, national teams are fighting with one hand tied behind their back…

Unless there is a major outbreak, its more likely that tests will proceed, too much at stake.

Added the numbers, just in the last week we had 120 000 new infections and 1906 people died.
A couple of days ago we had 26 000 + infections on one day alone, the highest of all the waves so far.

You would think that everything is sanitized entering the bio-bubble but with such high numbers, it might still come through food delivery, contractors on site etc…
Where I live I see people walking in the street without a face mask on their person. We are not the most law abiding nation…

It is either that or the testing equipment is too sensitive…?

‘and he’s been steady ever since. Mostly, I suspect because he’s agreed to play to the strengths of the Boks.’
I believe you are right, this article comes halfway to explain it:
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/its-night-and-day-between-handre-pollard-and-the-lions-flyhalves/
You nailed it when saying he agreed to play his part.
In typical Bok rugby, and especially under Nienaber & Co, roles are very defined to have the great defence system the Boks currently employ. Attack seems to feed off defense, almost accidently, wheras other teams have a more attacking backline set-up.
Pollard is individually a great 10 but probably wont be recognized as much by all.

Read an article recently where Wayne Barnes rated the three thoughest players as McCaw, Johnson and Goode.
In it he states:
“Richie always had the knack of asking the right question at the right time, sometimes it felt like I was losing a little bit of control.

“Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t talk a lot on the field. He knew the law book inside out and so when he asked a question, he often had a point.”

Wayne Barnes picks the three toughest players he’s officiated

It is important that a ref has respect for a captain regarding the latters’ knowledge of the application of rules and not only know the rules per se. In that regard McCaw excelled – think he had qualified as a ref or something close to it.

Knowing a captain has the inside track on your officiating can be pretty daunting and maybe you would be less inclined to be pedantic in ruling against his team?

Playing the ref is as important for a captain as playing the opposition. Too many captains today seem nothing more than a pesky fly in the refs ear.

Maybe not Harry, we still have Morne that plays well (maybe even better now) and played through the brutal series in 2009 where he played under great pressure to sunk the Lions.

Dont know if Rassie is a much smarter coach than White, both are pretty good. Rassie has the edge in PR and player relations but the rest is pretty even.

Also Rassie is really half a combo with Jacques and together they make a mean team. Jake has to carry the can mostly by himself.

If Bulls had their best players available and not split up for Boks and Blitzbok duties, it would have been a different ball game. There is only so much you can do with a R60m salary cap. Not taking anything away from Benetton, you can only play what is in front of you, but Bulls losing was not a surprise to me.

I do agree the game is not an indication of what is to follow in the BIL tour but I have a few concerns. Boks and Lions talk each up and Boks normally fall for that sweet nothings… The Boks can still be basking in old glories, will enough aggression be stirred to be up for it or do they first need to lose the 1st test to get it back?
Who is going to relay on field instructions now that Nienaber will be sitting in the coaches box, where will Rassie be?

Small things but they all add up…

I did not mention the Wallabies after 1995.

You are absolutely right about Aus and NZ doing fairly well in ’87 and ’91 without the Boks. Because with them in the mix Aus couldnt repeat their ’91 result next time around and it took NZ another 24 year for theirs – by that time Boks had their second WC – and that playing in two tournaments less.
Absolutely spot on…

The country that is current World Champs should know their place…?

Dont know if you got to see Chasing the sun yet but here is a link to the first episode. I see the 2nd one was uploaded a few days ago.

I think you are right that the AB’s targeted Willie but not because of him being the weak link but because he can make something of nothing (and sometimes nothing of something as well!)
He is a mercurial player and a godsend in a time long ago when the Boks forgot there was space behind the opposition’s backline. I remembered almost doing a backflip of joy when he chip and chased sucessfully and knew he was going to be around for a long time.

With his eye for space and playmaking ability, he will naturally, on occasion, stuff it up big time.
In the 36-34 win in Wellington, he literally grabbed the ball inches away from Rieko’s cupped hands for his try.
Target Willie because of him a weak link? Rather the opposite I think.

But you are also right that the Boks changed their play and tightened up their defense after that game as it was somewhere in the 60%. All other games it was in the 80’s and in the final 92% which was phenomenal.

A telltale sign of a ball not kicked right is when – even if it is over – bends or sways in any direction before coming back (bar the wind). Many kickers accepted it in their repertoire but it is far from ideal. Renowned kickers always worked that out of their system.

Like it is said in the title, the AB’s problem lies in the pack and it is maybe not so marginal.

The teams that beat them the last couple of years – the Boks, England and Argentinia – are reknown for their forward play. Australia’s wins comes from the energy and dare of a new season with a new team and new coach and then pretty much playing a AB’s B team blooding new players as well as playing out of position.

After the Boks 36-34 win and the return match in Pretoria, the high-scoring games against the top teams became a thing of the past as the Boks forced the AB’s into its arm wrestling type of play, taking their backs out of play.
England pretty much did the same

I could not understand how AB’s manage to beat us in the WC pool game and blaming the ref seemed a bit squeamish but after seeing Rassie’s reaction in ‘Chasing the sun’ of the ref’s decisions or lack of it relating to the scrums, it seems much more likely the cause for the defeat. If you dont get the reward for forward dominance, it can come back and bite you which it did. Luckily our AB’s 2007 moment came in the pool stages and not in the final.

Argentinia dominated up front and turned over quite a few balls. It was pretty amazing to see the AB forwards low engagement numbers at the breakdown.

NZ need to beef up or they risk losing more and more.

Great piece, had a few chuckles.

It suck to be at the bottom of the wheel, us Saffas knew the feeling just a mere 3 years ago. Nothing is going right, the glory of 2 WC’s a distant memory, now and again a promising 30min just to lapse into another hiding. Italy had us for pizza, NZ like hokey pokey ice cream.

But Rennie is a good and sharp coach, got the lumbering Chiefs to grow a spine, will do the same with Aus.
Like a duck swimming serenely, he has already paddled like crazy where you cant see.
Rennie is on the up, not so sure about Foster who hasnt got a B team.

If Aussies press dont rush it and prima donna players not revolting, there is every change Wallabies would be different kettle of fish next WC