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Outspoken Australian pundit Phil Kearns has branded the decision to yellow card Wallaby prop Taniela Tupou following a ruck clearout as ‘disgraceful’.
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The Wallabies fell to South Africa 35-17 in the opening clash of the 2019 Mitsubishi Estate Rugby Championship at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannesburg, but the 54th-minute decision to send off ‘Tongan Thor’ was what enraged Kearns.
It was a night where the Wallabies were left to rue missed opportunities, however, Tupou’s controversial yellow card proved a major turning point in the clash.
Trailing only by four after going into the dressing rooms 14-10 down after a tense opening half, the Wallabies were reduced to 14 men in the 54th minute after the giant prop was pulled up for a late cleanout at a ruck.
The Springboks capitalised by scoring twice in the ensuing 10 minutes, which set them on course for a convincing victory.
The yellow elicited a remarkable tirade from Kearns, who branded the match official as ‘out of his depth’.
“I just think it was a disgraceful decision,” Kearns said on Fox Sports. “So many times we put referees that are out of their depth into these games.
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“We’ve all talked privately about the World Cup referees and there’s a whole bunch of guys there that are totally out of their depth.
“And big games like that — that is a game-changing moment…And some of these guys are out of their depth.”
The home side crossed first in the opening five minutes of the contest and never surrendered their lead for the rest of the night to extend their historic unbeaten record against the Wallabies at the venue.
Debutant Springboks half Herschel Janjties made the most of his opportunity in the number 9 jersey, scoring a try in each half, and while the Wallabies produced several opportunities in attack they were only able to take full advantage twice. Their first try came through Dane Haylett-Petty 11 minutes before the break, but they were unable to find the tryline again until the 72nd minute through Bernard Foley.
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After looking like the better side for much of the first half despite some blown chances, in the end the Wallabies were outclassed by the hosts in what was an enthralling contest for most of the night.
Just minutes before Tupou exited with the card, the Wallabies had also lost prop James Slipper to a head knock leaving rookie Harry Johnson-Holmes facing a stern initiation on debut.
Haylett-Petty’s 29th-minute try came off some slick hands off the back of a rolling maul, and the winger almost made it a double but for spilling the ball after chasing down a Nic White kick moments later.
It was Jantjies’ second try, sniping from the base of a ruck that proved the dagger blow for the Wallabies and extended South Africa’s lead to 18 points with as many minutes left to play. His replacement Cobus Reinach put the icing on the cake with a try right on the fulltime whistle.
The Wallabies will look to regroup ahead of their second match in the abbreviated 2019 series against Argentina at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
SCORERS
Qantas Wallabies 17 (Dane Haylett-Petty, Bernard Foley tries; Bernard Foley 2 cons; Bernard Foley pen) South Africa 35 (Herschel Jantjies 2, Lood De Jager, Sbu Nkosi, Cobus Reinach tries; Elton Jantjies 5 cons)
YELLOW CARDS
Andre Esterhuizen (South Africa) – 21 mins
Taniela Tupou (Qantas Wallabies) – 54 mins
TEAMS
Qantas Wallabies
1.James Slipper 2.Folau Fainga’a 3.Sekope Kepu 4.Izack Rodda 5.Rory Arnold 6.Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 7.Michael Hooper (c) 8.Isi Naisarani 9.Nic White 10.Bernard Foley 11.Reece Hodge 12.Samu Kerevi 13.Tevita Kuridrani 14.Dane Haylett-Petty 15.Tom Banks
Reserves: 16.Jordan Uelese 17.Harry Johnson-Holmes 18.Taniela Tupou 19.Rob Simmons 20.Jack Dempsey 21.Matt To’omua 22.Kurtley Beale
South Africa
1.Tendai Mtawarira 2.Bongi Mbonambi 3.Trevor Nyakane 4.Eben Etzebeth (c) 5.Lood De Jager 6.Rynhardt Elstadt 7.Pieter-Steph Du Toit 8.Francois Louw 9.Herschel Jantjies 10.Elton Jantjies 11.Makazole Mapimpi 12.Andre Esterhuizen 13.Jesse Kriel 14.Sbu Nkosi 15.Warrick Gelant
Reserves: 16.Schalk Brits 17.Lizo Gqoboka 18.Vincent Koch 19.Marvin Orie 20.Marcell Coetzee 21.Cobus Reinach 22.Francois Steyn 23.Dillyn Leyds
WALLABIES SUBSTITUTIONS
47 mins – Tupou for Kepu, 49 mins – Johnson-Holmes for Slipper, 55 mins – Kepu for Naisarani, 58 mins – To’omua for Kuridrani, 58 mins – Beale for Banks, 58 mins – Simmons for Rodda, 65 mins – Uelese for Fainga’a, 65 mins – Genia for White, 65 mins – Dempsey for Kepu, 68 mins – Fainga’a for Uelese
WALLABIES MATCH NOTES
Isi Naisarani Test debut – Wallaby #926
Harry Johnson-Holmes Test debut – Wallaby #927
Comments on RugbyPass
I’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
7 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
7 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to comments