Gatland verdict on Kolbe yellow and what irked him in the 2nd half
After a week when the first Test post-mortem on the level of refereeing reached extraordinary new heights with Rassie Erasmus’ 62-minute video, Warren Gatland felt it best to limit his take on the contentious first-half yellow card for Cheslin Kolbe and on the refereeing in general following Saturday’s 27-9 defeat for the Lions by the Springboks.
Commenting on Sky Sports when the 25th-minute incident took place, the Test centurion referee Nigel Owens felt the Springboks winger was in red card trouble after he took Conor Murray out in the air. However, second Test referee Ben O’Keeffe felt the collision only merited a yellow card, leaving Kolbe only heading to a sin bin already occupied by Lions winger Duhan van der Merwe for his cynical 23rd-minute foot-trip on Kolbe.
“I’m not going to comment on the referee’s decisions,” responded Gatland at his virtual post-game Lions media briefing in Cape Town. “We’ll have our meeting with the referee next week and see what the assessors come back with in terms of their decision and then get find out what it was. It didn’t look great from where I was but he decided it was a yellow card decision.”
The try-less Lions were 9-6 ahead at the break but they fell away in a second half where they were held scoreless and how they lost out on the penalty count by 15-10 will be a source of frustration as well as how the Springboks slowed down the pace of the match.
Last week’s opening Test and the mid-tour game featuring South Africa A had seen the hosts struggle with their conditioning in the second halves but they countered that in this latest second half in Cape Town by preventing the Lions from building tempo and quickening up the play.
The Lions versus Springboks second Test was expected to be fractious and that angst quickly materialised in dour but feisty first half#CastleLionsSeries #LionsRugby #RSAvBIL
https://t.co/0FAxKKp5Tn— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 31, 2021
“The referee was continually talking to them about trying to speed the game up and keep it moving,” admitted Gatland. “That is something we will probably look at raising next week in terms of how we get some more tempo in the game and that every stoppage isn’t an injury stoppage which we seemed to have, in particular in that second half. It’s difficult to change that. Alun Wyn (Jones) was working with the referee and he was talking to Ben in terms of trying to speed the game up and keep it moving but it was very, very stop-start.”
Reflecting on a build-up where the refereeing became the dominant narrative, Lions boss Gatland hoped it doesn’t set a precedent for how such matters are handled in future and that there will be no repeat of Erasmus so publicly airing his grievances.
“I hope that doesn’t happen. We have got systems and processes in place and hopefully World Rugby looks at that in terms of making sure everyone follows the protocols and that is important. We do press conferences and try to give you guys some feedback and some information and we deal with the referees through World Rugby and that is the process.
“I just hope we don’t get to a situation where we end up with things on Twitter and people airing their views in that way. I found it quite strange that that approach was taken but it is definitely not something I will get involved in and it is important that we keep the integrity of the game up as much as we possibly can.
“The last thing that we need is a war of words and being accused of doing certain things. It’s amazing how the narrative changed with regard to the TMO. I didn’t make one comment leading up to the game last week on the TMO and yet I was accused of questioning his integrity.
“That’s the message that they were giving out. We will just keep things to ourselves and go through the proper channels when we deal with the referee, talk to the referee after reviewing the game and then hopefully get some feedback from him and us giving him so feedback as well.”
PLAYER RATINGS: The Lions faced a roll reversal in Cape Town, fading before a second-half Bok onslaught.
Here's how we rated the players #LionsTour2021 #LionsRugby #RSAvBIL https://t.co/Y1gAvsHpE8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 31, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Steve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
24 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
3 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
3 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
24 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
18 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
24 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
24 Go to commentsWho’d have thought, not having Farrell & Youngs kicking the ball at every possible opportunity and playing flat and allowing your centres to run and pass would pay off? No one could possibly have seen this coming. FML. It took a LONG time coming but at least that time has finally come. England need to find a backup to Lawrence. Freeman is the best candidate for me, I see no reason why he can't play 12. He's big, strong, fast and has great hands.
24 Go to commentsLove Manu but he's not the player he was and I imagine Bayonne have paid too much money for him.
3 Go to comments