Bledisloe Blunders?

Munster columnist @trevormurphy73 had some thoughts on the officiating at the recent Bledisloe Cup opener to the Rugby Championship

I came home on Saturday after work to watch the first Bledisloe cup match of the season. Not long into the match I decided to write this piece. The decisions I want to talk about were watched at full game speed and only reviewed again if I felt there was a significant error. Some of you may disagree with me but that’s ok. It’s what makes living in a free country worthwhile. I will always listen to an opposing argument even when I believe it is incorrect.

Firstly I believe that NZ are by some margin the best national side playing rugby at the moment. Secondly I believe that NZ get more than their fair share of calls in a given match. 50 50’s in a NZ match are more like 60 40’s. This is not intended as an attack on referees. I believe that the officials at the match this weekend are amongst the best in rugby. It is meant to stimulate debate on this great sport of ours. I have left out any names as I don’t want to personalise the comments. What follows is a chronological list of the events in question.

9^th minute: NZ were awarded a scrum penalty in the Australian half. What bothered me about this was before the scrum had collapsed the NZ flanker had broken his bind and was actually ahead of his prop. It didn’t take any deep analysis to see this. As I said above, I watched it at full match speed and only analysed it more to verify what my instinct had told what happened.

14th minute: NZ were given a knock on advantage. This was then upgraded to a full penalty for hands in the ruck. What was not taken into account was the infringement by NZ players lying over the ball and offside. The ref should have reverted to the knock on advantage and awarded NZ a scrum.

17th minute: Australia had a lineout in their territory. The NZ prop at the front of the lineout came across the line and barged into the Australian player. The ball was knocked into touch by NZ for another Australian line out. The ref then warns the NZ prop for his previous move.

18th minute: We had a repeat of the event in the fourteenth minute. Yet another knock on advantage to NZ which was upgraded to a penalty. This time the NZ flanker came steaming in from the side to clear out the Australian defenders. Again the ref should have reverted to the knock on advantage and awarded a scrum to NZ.

26th minute: Australia were awarded a penalty for crossing by NZ in midfield. While this one was harder to call from the refs point of view, the NZ player over ran his team mate on a parallel line. Not a crossing penalty in my book.

32nd minute: NZ player obstructed in midfield. What it meant was the Australian defender outside him had to check his run slightly. This left space for the NZ player to score a try. Does this mean the try wouldn’t have been scored? I don’t think Australia would have held out much longer but the fact is it was a penalty. At this level players need only a fraction of a second to take advantage of a half a yards space.

35th minute: NZ were awarded a penalty for Australia holding on. What was missed is the NZ defender only got at the ball because his team mates were lying all over the ruck preventing Australia from supporting their runner. It wasn’t subtle!

42nd minute: There was a forward pass by the NZ midfielder. It was not a blatant one but everyone in the commentary box seemed to call it at the same time as I did. A marginal call that could easily be missed by the ref. The linesman should have picked it up though. Within 20 seconds NZ were tackled into touch. The NZ scrum half held on to the ball preventing a quick throw. Didn’t the ref warn him about something like that in the first half?

50th minute: NZ flanker sprinted back into position to block an Australian defender. It wasn’t just running into the line though, he changed his line to do this.

70th minute: NZ midfielder checked and Australian trying to chase down a kick. It wasn’t the worst offence I have ever seen on a rugby field but the rules are the rules.

I don’t think Australia had what it takes to beat NZ on this occasion. They appeared to be rusty. Their execution was very poor at key times. You are never going to beat a team with NZ ability if your line speed is slow in defence. In attack the Australian players were receiving the ball standing still which is a recipe for disaster. Add the questionable officiating calls to the poor play by Australia and it’s a massive uphill battle to beat a quality side.

Take the almost result by Ireland in Christchurch as an example. The NZ captain looked like he had been in a knock down drag out after 80 minutes. You have to fight NZ tooth and nail to even get close on the scoreboard. The ferocity of NZ in the tackle area means teams have to commit numbers and this leaves them without much hope out wide. Rant over!

I’m Trevor, 39. A passionate Munster and Irish Rugby Fan. A champion of the underdog. I have strong opinions on this beautiful game of ours. Always analysing tactics and phases of play. I believe in the old saying “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the about size of the fight in the dog”. Stand up and fight!

The Rugby Championship–Week 1 preview

Our man down under @shumpty77 looks ahead to an historic weekend in test rugby.

After a short break to take breath after the conclusion of the Super 15 rugby season, international rugby returns to the Southern Hemisphere with the commencement of the revamped Tri-nations in the form of the Rugby Championship.

The addition of Argentina to the competition this season adds an element of excitement to what had become a slightly tired format in recent years.

Australia is the defending champion and host New Zealand in the first game of the new competition as well as the first game of the battle for the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney on Saturday morning. South Africa host the new boys, Argentina, at Cape Town that afternoon. [click here for the full set of fixtures & Irish kickoff times]

Game 1: Australia v New Zealand

The great rivalry of Southern Hemisphere rugby continues in the first game of the Rugby Championship with the Wallabies coming into this fixture of the back of a less than stellar campaign against Wales and Scotland as well as seeing its teams finish the Super 15 championship with a whimper rather than a roar. The All Blacks on the other hand will be buoyed by their performances against the Irish during the midseason break and by the fact that in the Chiefs they again possess the mantle of Super 15 champions.

The last fixture between these two teams was the semi-final of the World Cup last year which saw the All Blacks easily dispatch their cousins across the ditch. Indeed if one only considers statistics the All Blacks must be roaring favourites to win this game having held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003 and until the Wallabies victory at Lang Park last year having not been bested in Australia in the previous four encounters between the sides.

The Wallabies have made only two changes to the team that took the field against the Welsh in May and both of those changes have arisen off the back of injuries to Palu and McCabe with Dennis and Faingaa replacing them respectively. The side selected is, frankly, replete with New South Wales players which is concerning for all Wallabies fans given that provinces failure to win in their last 9 games of the Super 15 series. The Wallabies line-up has the look of a team that will be defensively strong whilst not setting the world on fire in attack. Barnes, Faingaa and Horne will need to find attacking flair that has escaped them in previous test matches to get the ball to the likes of Ashley-Cooper, Ioane and Beale. Equally, the backline will have little roll to play if the Wallabies forwards cannot win more than their share of set pieces and at the breakdown so the performance of Timani and Sharpe in the line out and Pocock and Higginbotham at the break down will be absolutely vital.

The All Blacks have named a very strong side on paper with a mixture of stars of Bledisloe’s past and players of the future in their line up. They will again rely upon the brilliance of their talismanic super stars McCaw and Carter to lead them around the park. Liam Messam and Luke Romano have been rewarded for excellent Super 15 seasons and join a very experienced forward back that welcomes the return of Kieran Read from injury at number 8. The back three for All Blacks in Gear, Jane and Dagg all possess electric speed and if the ball can get past Nonu and Williams to them at speed they could wreak havoc. The World Cup champions arrive in Sydney with only three changes to the side that won the World Cup and if they perform anywhere near the level of play they showed in the World Cup and against Ireland they will be tough to beat.

This game really presents a clash in styles between the defensive (looking) Wallabies and the attacking might of the All Blacks. For the Wallabies to have a chance to restrain the All Black’s juggernaut they must stop them from scoring tries and must frustrate them into making enough mistakes to allow for the Wallabies to score.

That said the All Blacks seem to have just a bit too much class across most positions and if parity is maintained in the forward battle it is difficult to see the Wallabies backline getting over the top of their counterparts. So, whilst the heart is telling me the Wallabies will win, I have no option but to tip the All Blacks to win this one and possibly to win well. New Zealand by 11

Game 2: South Africa v Argentina

The Pumas have been added to the Rugby Championship this season and will come to Newlands Stadium with great hopes of causing an upset in their first fixture. They come into this fixture off the back of wins by their second string players over France and Italy as well as having recently completed a training camp in Pensacola, Florida, which will have left the Pumas in great shape. If they are to prove the naysayers, such as All Blacks coach Steve Hansen wrong through they will need to overcome their terrible record against South Africa whom they have never beaten.

Fly half Juan Martin Hernandez returns to the Puma’s outfit after being on the outer for the last 3 years and be looking to form a smooth combination with Nicolas Vergallo the half back. Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe has been named captain for this fixture in what presents as the 35 year old’s last international campaign before retirement. In Rodrigo Roncero’s 50^th game he will again form a vital part of the front row for the Pumas and it is in the front row that they will be looking to assert some level of dominance against the Springboks front row with a view to setting a platform for their backs to attack.

The Springboks come into this fixture off the back of an excellent super 15 campaign for three of their teams and a final appearance by the Sharks against the ultimate champion Chiefs. They also were excellent in their series victory against the English during the winter series. They have picked a very strong line-up for this fixture and have made five changes from the team that ran out against England in June.

The forward pack has a new look to it with Andres Bekker returning to the Springboks team in place of Juandre Kruger for his first test in two years, Keegan Daniel making his first start in Springbok colours and Willem Alberts returns to the flank in place of Jacques Potgieter. In the backline Zane Kirchner returns to the custodian role in place of Gio Aplon whilst Lwazi Mvovo replaces the injured JP Pietersen. Frans Steyn will also return to the lineup to play his 50^th test in Springbok colours.

This is a team full of combinations that were successful in Super 15 competition with the front-row and loose forwards being from The Sharks, the locks play together for the Stormers and the half-backs are from the Bulls. These combinations will bode well for a Springboks line up that will be looking for an early big win to get them on their way in this season’s tournament.

With pace to burn in the backline, a massive forward pack and their metronomic kicker in Morne Steyn I cannot see the Springboks threatened in this fixture and am tipping them to get off to a flying start to the season. South Africa by 17

Steve is sports tragic and is particularly fanatical about rugby and cricket. A proud Reds member, Steve is also a fan of Wallabies as well as the Welsh team (when they are not playing the Wallabies). When not following rugby, cricket and all other sports, Steve is an account director at an accounting firm.