Ref Watch: Ireland dodged a bullet in the scrum
Mathieu Raynal is the last top French official standing following the retirements of Jerome Garces, Romain Poite and Alexandre Ruiz and his appointment to last summer’s third test between South Africa and the British & Irish Lions showed the esteem in which he is held by World Rugby’s refereeing bosses.
That day the 40-year-old did a fine job in the most testing of circumstances – following Rassie Erasmus’ video demolition of first test ref Nic Berry – but when he reviews his performance in the thunderous England v Ireland Six Nations encounter it is likely that he will be less satisfied.
The Big Call
Having the fastest sending off in international rugby history on your refereeing CV is probably a useful ticket to the post-career after-dinner speaking circuit, but also an incredibly difficult situation for any official to be faced with.
As the TV commentators immediately noted, a red card was the only possible outcome under the head contact protocols with which we have all become so familiar in recent years.
To his credit, once alerted to the situation by TMO Marius Jonker, Raynal worked methodically through the incident to establish beyond doubt that there had been direct head contact, that force was present and that there was no mitigation.
The ‘rugby’s gone soft’ mob who fill social media will doubtless wade in, but this is exactly the type of tackle which World Rugby’s working party aim to eradicate, and the fact that James Ryan was concussed and forced to immediately leave the field tells its own story.
Under trials in the Southern Hemisphere Ewels would have received a 20-minute yellow card before being replaced by (presumably) Joe Launchbury, and England being forced to play 78 minutes with 14 men may accelerate this debate north of the equator.
?1:22 de partido…#ENGvIRE pic.twitter.com/CDPz3hyyN8
— Periodismo Rugby (@Perrugby) March 12, 2022
Red Cards and the Refereeing Psyche
What non-referees will not appreciate is the extent to which the whistler’s focus on the job in hand is under threat following an incident like this so early in a game.
It is extremely difficult not to continually replay the incident in your mind while wondering if you could have done anything different to prevent the red card – although having the chance to review it on the big screen would allay the referee’s worst fears that a mistake might have been made.
As a result concentration on the rest of the game can be difficult, while a whole new dynamic is created as a result of the sending off. Pre-match planning often goes out of the window for both teams and the officials as the contest takes on a very different hue to that anticipated.
This was very much the case at Twickenham, but to Raynal’s credit his concentration appeared unaffected.
IRELAND PLAYER RATINGS: There were numerous heroes in green as Farrell's Irish finished with a flourish in London, w/@heagneyl ???#Ireland #GuinnessSixNations #ENGvIREhttps://t.co/Ddme0imJuz
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 12, 2022
Tiny Margins
Maro Itoje put in a huge shift for England and was twice at the centre of crucial calls which for me the officials got right.
His 12th minute slap on Jamison Gibson-Park which caused the ball to go forward caused a James Lowe try to be ruled out via TMO review. The key points here are that Itoje only played the Irish no.9 after he had lifted the ball from the ground and made contact with his wrist rather than the ball itself – since it went forward it would otherwise have been a deliberate knock-on and probably a yellow card would have followed given the incident’s proximity to the home line.
In similar vein, Itoje reached through a forest of bodies to grab Gibson-Park’s wrist after he lifted a ball from a ruck close to England’s line in the second half. By lifting the ball the ruck was over, and in effect Itoje was making a tackle which since he was on his feet and onside was entirely legal despite him still being part of the breakdown.
PLAYER RATINGS: Despite a heroic performance, 14-man England slipped to a 15-32 home defeat, albeit it in an instant classic.
Paul Smith ??? the England players #ENGvIREhttps://t.co/7dV11tlzEh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 12, 2022
Scrum Carnage
The biggest area which Raynal will retrospectively view with concern was his handling of the scrum.
England fed ten set-pieces in total with two being reset. Of the remaining eight, the first ended in an Ireland penalty after which the hosts were awarded a free kick and six penalties.
The majority of these came as a result of Ireland going backwards on their tight-head side in scrums which wheeled.
The first question a referee asks himself in this situation is whether the wheel has been caused by instability in the initial engagement, in which case slowing things down and working with the front rows usually provides a solution.
Once he is happy that this is not the case, the next aspect to look at is whether one team is stepping backwards rather than driving forwards as law requires. This manoeuvre – known as a whip wheel – also can be accelerated by the loose had going across the scrum at an angle, and is illegal.
Finally, this leaves him with the option to either reset the scrum if he is unsure who is at fault or penalise the team he believes are failing to deal with the pressure being applied – in this case Ireland.
As Lawrence Dallaglio observed in commentary, French referees are trained to reward the pack which is going forwards, and this is what Raynal consistently did.
So far so good, but we then have to ask why, once Tadgh Furlong had been penalised four times for the same offence, Raynal took no further action to deal with this repeat infringement prior to his award of the sixth penalty in the 59th minute.
At this point Ireland were finally given a formal warning which, with only one further scrum taking place from which the visitors’ replacement front row won clean ball late in the game, then never developed into the yellow card which Engand will believe their scrum dominance earned.
BREAKING: Eddie Jones let rip at his post-game media briefing over one aspect of the heavy England defeat… but the name of Clive Woodward also rubbed him up the wrong way, w/@heagneyl ???#EnglandRugby #GuinnessSixNations #ENGvIRE
https://t.co/IU2wUTWO26— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 12, 2022
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t enjoy drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments