Springboks defeat All Blacks despite some tough refereeing decisions
Wade Cox feels Nigel Owens got a few things wrong on the weekend
©PA
Wade Cox looks back at South Africa's stunning win against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship, but believes there were question marks about some refereeing decisions.
The Springboks produced a heroic defensive display to upset the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday night in what can only be described as a classic Test Match. The seventh ranked South Africa stunned the first ranked New Zealand in a boilover of epic proportions. The Boks eventually ran out 36-34 winners, however it should have been much more convincing.
Unconscious Bias When Refereeing the All Blacks
Referee Nigel Owens had a nightmare fixture, and displayed the type of unconscious bias that seems to have become all too predictable when refereeing New Zealand fixtures. Owens is renowned as the premier referee in World Rugby, however this is a night that he would want to reflect on and forget very quickly.
Forward Passes, Knock Ons
New Zealand were first out of the blocks after Beauden Barrett picked a pass off his toes, and popped a beautiful short ball to his brother Jordie Barrett. Referee Owens neglected to look at a dubious, blatantly forward offload by Anton Lienert-Brown that allowed the line break in the previous phase.
This seemed to set the tone, as Owens went on to miss numerous forward passes and knock-ons by the All Blacks throughout the fixture.
Entry, Cleaning at Breakdown
The lax attitude by Owens leaked into the breakdown where the All Blacks were allowed a complete free reign. New Zealand’s entry to the breakdown was grotesquely inaccurate, with cleaners entering in the side with a sense of impunity. There was a complete disregard for the fundamental rules of a ruck, and with that a fair contest was lost.
This goes some way to explain the Boks’ ridiculous tackle count (226/46), possession (75%/25%) and penalty count (10/3) statistics. Owens allowed the breakdown to become a farce, with one side adhering to the rules and the All Blacks not.
Game Management
In the 5th minute Lukhanyo Am went down for a shoulder injury. Owens allowed for play to continue, only for Jordie Barrett to waltz through the vacant midfield channel. In the 30th minute Liam Squire went down, and play was stopped as it was ‘likely’ that the Boks could go wide and he would be in the way. The Springboks had absolutely no intention of going wide, having kicked to the corner to set up a maul. This is again a shockingly inconsistent example of Owens’ (unintentional) bias.
Advantage (5 Phases, A Line Break, and Bundled Out in the Corner)
Owens continued with his leniency towards the All Blacks when in the 60th minute, he played an interminable advantage to the New Zealanders that can only be described as farcical.
Owens allowed the All Blacks to take the ball through 3 well-constructed phases, before spinning the ball wide where Rieko Ioane had a one-on-one situation 10 meters out with the Faf De Klerk. Ioane failed to beat his man in an almost certain try, and was bundled into touch 10 meters out before being called back almost 35 meters by Owens for a penalty advantage. This left the players and commentators alike completely bewildered and bamboozled.
Scrum Penalty
Nigel Owens made another crucial decision to award the All Blacks a scrum penalty after the Boks seemed to get under the New Zealanders. Owens gave the All Blacks the penalty as South Africa were ruled to not be pushing straight.
Final Turnover/Scrum
In the 79th minute of the game, the Boks managed a crucial turnover when Bongi Mbonambi rose with the ball after New Zealand had hammered away relentlessly at the Springboks goal line. Mbonambi rose with the ball only for Owens to blow his whistle and allow an All Black scrum. Whether or not Owens saw this is not clear, however his decisions throughout the fixture only confirm what many skeptics say.
There is an unconscious bias that referees carry when refereeing the mighty All Blacks. Whether it is the occasion, the aura or the unwillingness to use their whistles, this was shown to be case more than ever in Wellington.
The offside call at the end, academic
On a side note, the propaganda machine, and mouthpiece of New Zealand Rugby Union that is the New Zealand Herald lead with an article, “How Nigel Owens’ Missed Call killed the All Blacks”. Apparently there was a call for Owens to rule an offside penalty in the final minute of the game which he ignored or did not hear.
The assumption that Beauden Barrett would have kicked the penalty to win the game is both arrogant and laughable.
Boks Deserved Better Than Nigel Owens
The reality is that this match should never have gone down to the 84th minute. The Springboks were better than that and deserved much more than Nigel Owens, and a 2-point win.
What did you think of Nigel Owens?
Twitter: @wadesgotit
