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It seems a shame to look back on Saturday’s stellar Super Rugby final with anything other than fondness.
Sydney’s ANZ Stadium – bedecked with blue and positively effervescing with the fervour of 60-thousand supporters – supplied the vibrant backdrop for eighty minutes of classic Southern Hemisphere rugby.
It is painfully easy, as a Scot, to gaze with envy across the equator at the sheer swashbuckling thrill our southern counterparts are treated to – and in a final, no less!
Indeed, to pick holes in what has already – perhaps a tad prematurely – been labelled ‘the greatest final ever’ from such lowly ground by contrast leaves one susceptible to scorn.
Only the churlish would seek to undermine a wonderful day for Australian rugby, and a fine advert for the sport at large. Yet only the hollow would allow their desperation to bask in the much-needed glow of NSW success to prevent them from acknowledging the game’s fatal flaw.
The game’s not-so-secret blemish.
For Craig Joubert’s bold call to penalise Richie McCaw – an offence punishable by fifty Jonah Lomu hand-offs to the forehead in New Zealand – for side entry with a minute left on the clock, which handed Bernard Foley the chance to knock over the match-winning goal, was wrong.
Tolu Latu, the Waratahs carrier, lost his footing and slipped to ground as he ran at the Kiwi talisman. There was no tackle, no ruck, no offside line and no requirement for McCaw to enter through the ‘gate’ – it was pure open play.
In analysing the penalty, we have entered the murky realms of split-second judgement – the clash took place in an instant and was over just as fast – but Joubert and co. are paid handsomely to get these calls right when the chips are down.
The Durbaner is one of the world’s best, and should not be chastised for an error that any of his colleagues might also have made – one mistake does not a bad referee maketh. He wasn’t at his most impressive with the whistle on Saturday, nor did he have a howler.
But to have the Super Rugby Final decided by a refereeing error ought to rankle.
It has certainly caused SANZAR a degree of consternation. I understand that behind closed doors on Monday, the body’s national referee managers and selectors recognised the slip.
Internal missives seem at odds with referee boss Lyndon Bray’s drive for public accountability, the New Zealander having broadcast the dropping of the under-performing Lourens van der Merwe, Francisco Pastrana and others across the media earlier in the season.
English whistleblower Wayne Barnes once told me, rather forcefully, that the public perception of referees as untouchable, unanswerable pillars of righteousness was a ‘myth’.
Unless the private discussion is a precursor to a press release – which seems more unlikely with each passing day – why dish out an internal admission without corresponding public acknowledgement? As a born cynic, I’d suggest PR as the prime motive.
Another northern counterpart of Joubert’s on the IRB Elite Panel expressed his concern over the handling of the issue, admitting that while he was “surprised someone of Craig’s calibre got it wrong”, he felt “SANZAR seem happy to throw the new guys under the bus, but are hiding now the pressure is on”.
Perhaps ‘the greatest final ever’ needed a helping of poetic antipodean justice to set it apart from the rest. Leaving aside Crusaders juggernaut Nemani Nadolo’s brush with the touchline on his way to the whitewash, how many times has McCaw emerged triumphant from acts of outrageous breakdown mischief?
Saturday’s showpiece should be celebrated and cherished for many years to come. Some may question the logic in SANZAR fronting up to Joubert’s mistake, and perhaps they’d have a point – it isn’t as though the match can be replayed, after all.
But I can’t help but feel its lack of honesty serves to tarnish rather than bolster its credibility in the wake of one of its finest hours.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.