Erasmus alleges Watson wasn't the only spear tackle Lions player
Potentially dangerous foul play by the Lions was highlighted in the fascinating 26-clip, hour-long first Test video review compiled by Rassie Erasmus, the Springboks director who was left fuming that Hamish Watson wasn’t yellow carded for spear tackling Willie le Roux in the second half while also highlighting a similar type first-half tackle from Duhan van der Merwe that was missed at the time by the officials.
Erasmus, who is now under investigation by World Rugby following his trenchant criticism of last weekend’s refereeing, was disappointed that referee Nic Berry and his team of officials weren’t more vigilant in policing a type of tackle that was infamously stitched into the Lions tapestry in 2005 when Brian O’Driscoll was upended by All Blacks duo Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu.
Neither All Blacks player was sanctioned for that first-minute incident in Christchurch which tossed Lions skipper O’Driscoll out of the Test series, a lack of punishment that left tour boss Clive Woodward raging and embarking on a high profile PR campaign to highlight what he felt was a lack of fair play.
This pressure on officialdom had no influence on that Test series outcome, the Lions going on to lose 3-0, but the table have now turned 16 years later with Erasmus playing the role of Woodward as the Springboks seek to save the series this weekend following last weekend’s 22-17 first Test loss.
One of the major debates sparked by last Saturday’s clash in Cape Town was how Lions replacement Watson escaped a second-half yellow card just minutes after he was introduced for Tom Curry. There was a general acceptance that referee Berry had made an error with Nigel Owens, the centurion Test referee, even commentating on Sky Sports that the wrong call had been made.
Rassie's video monologue hasn't gone unnoticed at World Rugby. #CastleLionsSeries #LionsRugby #rassie https://t.co/gomplDX4J5
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 29, 2021
However, Erasmus’ must-watch Lions review also referenced the first-half lift by van der Merwe that had gone unnoticed during the game with play allowed to continue. “We feel it is a similar action but he [Berry] feels there isn’t enough force for it to be a penalty. If you look at (Makazole) Mapimpi here, Duhan van der Merwe is coming from offside. He can’t come in from that side, that is the first offence, and then the second offence is picking up both legs of Mapimpi and driving him into the ground. If that is allowed and you can do it, by all means just tell us.
“We would have loved to hear this on Sunday night and then we could have practised that on Monday or Tuesday… but according to me this is very dangerous. Duhan picks him up and he is horizontal and he gets driven into the ground. I don’t think he can be in a worse position when it comes to that, but again the feedback is it’s not that bad according to Nic.”
Erasmus had earlier outlined his disgust that Watson was allowed to play on after a penalty was only awarded against him for his foul tackle on le Roux. “Here is a debate that is baffling,” reckoned Erasmus, playing through the footage. “The score was 19-17 and this is the 63 minute of the game.
“Willie catches the ball and Hamish Watson gets him. I don’t think that anybody can argue, he took him beyond the 90 and Willie landed on his shoulder/back, could have landed on his neck. I’m not saying it should be a red card but I can see nothing less than a yellow card here. I haven’t seen one incident like this in the last five years where a player has got away with less than a yellow card here.
“If you look at the reaction and the respect the referee shows towards the South African players compared to the Lions players, which we actually prior to the game discussed to the referees and asked just give both teams the same amount of respect, you can see all of our players appealing and immediately recognising this is a dangerous tackle.
“Nic sees it and he gives an advantage for that and then he just calmly says there is a bit of a leg lift. He referred it back to the TMO Marius Jonker, which is the person that Warren Gatland had openly put so much pressure on during the week. Knowing Marius and knowing the laws that should definitely be a yellow card.
“On minute 63 it means in the next 17 minutes they will play six or seven minutes with 15 men on the field, which is the way the law should be refereed. The wording is a little bit of a leg lift and they talk through it.
“Willie stays down like all the players in the world do after they have received a spear tackle and then eventually he just gives a penalty and I think the whole world knows that that should be a yellow card. You see it in slow motion, he lifts him beyond the horizontal and he drives him into the ground. That is a weird one.”
"He pulls him up from the ground as if it’s just a doll which he picks up"
– Mako Vunipola was one of many Lions singled out in an incendiary one-hour video assessment by Rassie Erasmus of last weekend’s first Test#CastleLionsSeries #LionsRugby #RSAvBIL https://t.co/YAhqbRLiP9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 29, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments