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Luke Pearce marches Saracens back 20 metres over Vunipola backchat
By Ian Cameron
Referee Luke Pearce showed he wasn’t in the mood for backchat back during the eagerly anticipated Exeter Chiefs – Saracens clash at Sandy Park this afternoon.
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Pearce marched Saracens back a total of 20 metres following two consecutive exchanges between him and Billy Vunipola, stamping his authority on proceedings in the 23rd minute of the contest, following comments from Saracens No.8.
The ref mic then picked up Pearce telling Alex Goode: “That player has an option. If he does it again, he’s gone [pointing towards Vunipola].”
Judging by Vunipola’s angry reaction to teammate Jackson Wray after the telling off from Pearce, it clearly didn’t land too well with the former England forward.
Luke Pearce is taking absolutely no prisoners this afternoon.
Behave yourselves, lads.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/g3TVl7QqPF
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 4, 2021
It’s the second significant telling-off by an international referee this weekend, with South Africa’s Jaco Peyper giving a joint tongue lashing to Bismark du Plessis and Bongi Mbonambi after the pair fired up in their URC derby in Durban.
"I know you’re big characters and good players, both Springboks, so please, come back to your values.”
Well said Jaco ??? #URChttps://t.co/6zerdpxRpl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 4, 2021
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Exeter Chiefs have won their last four home games against Saracens, after winning just two of their previous seven such matches in the Premiership.
Saracens have lost just one of their last nine games in the Premiership, however, that sole defeat came on the road; they’ve averaged 36 points per game during that run.
Saracens are undefeated in their last six games, their longest unbeaten run in the league since March – December 2018 when they won 16 consecutive games.
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Oh what glorious insight into the psychology of this prophet, madman, con artist, devil? Two lies just in the title alone—what a veritable Sherlock Holmes we have here (because verily I tell you no one in the history of humanity has ever substituted the word “chat” for how that abomination of desolation named Erasmus has done—out of curiosity, what should he call it: “one man on video talking at those watch?”; and, I’m aghast and agog, how he didn’t time stamp appropriately—lock the narcissist manipulator up!!). The truth, DG, y’all love Rassie because he gives some ostensible (pseudo)meaning to your rather pointless jobs as “journalists” who basically, though not in every case, rehearse the same tropes and cliches in every article you write. Stop trying to be a private dick like Jake Gittes, you don’t have the sense of irony nor the slicked back hair for it.
Go to commentsWait a second, this is the third article moaning about the referee's decisions for the Bok-Eng game. I thought you guys were ok with refereeing mistakes as it was all part of the game? Why are you complaining so much?
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