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'Very, very dumb play': Cowan-Dickie's pivotal moment that turned the Calcutta Cup
Despite trailing 10-6 at the half, England had dominated the possession and territory stakes but were scuppered by a resilient Scottish defence.
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The visitors continued to arrest control in the second, firstly narrowing the gap to 10-9 with a Smith penalty before taking the lead when Ben Youngs put England’s flyhalf into a gap for a well-worked try.
Another Smith penalty in the 63rd minute took England’s lead to 17-10 which looked to have taken the game out of Scotland’s reach before the decisive play of the game.
Following a second consecutive cross-field kick, Scotland looked certain to score with the ball directed into the path of Darcy Graham. The closest defender, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, made a deliberate play to disrupt the catch by illegally knocking the ball forward into touch.
After deliberation with the match officials, referee Ben O’Keefe had no option but to award a penalty try and issuing a yellow card to the England hooker, resulting in the scores being locked at 17-all.
Australian pundit and former Scotland coach Matt Williams called it a ‘very, very dumb play’ in the post-match coverage on Virgin Media Sport.
“Very, very dumb play from Cowan-Dickie, he could’ve caught the ball,” Williams said.
“He certainly didn’t look like he knew the laws of the game. You are not allowed to bat the ball forward or out, it is a penalty and regarded as foul play in rugby, as ridiculous as some people think that is.
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“However, I’ve got to say, I’ve seen some dodgy penalty tries and that’s right up there. I’m not so certain that you could say was a try definitely going to be scored. Did the foul play definitely stop a try from being scored?
“I just don’t think it fulfilled those requirements. It doesn’t matter now, it’s been awarded. That lit the game up, that penalty try.
Former Irish fullback Rob Kearney also agreed with Williams’ view but stated that Cowan-Dickie’s decision was ‘absolutely crazy’
“Absolutely it didn’t fill the requirements for me,” Kearney said.
“He’d done all the hard work, he got himself into the right position. He timed his jump into the air really well, got his two hands up in the air, and then just decided to bat it into touch.
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“It was absolutely crazy stuff. We always loathe to put the blame on one person, but he has cost his team this game.”
If only Cowan-Dickie had used a cricket bat so that penalty could have been more obvious #SCOvENG
— Bex (@Rebecca15Smith) February 5, 2022
Luke Cowan Dickie is the only reason Scotland won #SCOvENG
— Adam Tauszky (@Leap_year_man) February 5, 2022
So frustrating. The game was there to win and we lost all momentum with that stupid Cowan-Dickie decision. Game management from both Jones and on field players not good enough and ultimately cost us. Not a good feeling. #GuinnessSixNations #SCOvENG
— Piers Dunham (@piersdunham) February 5, 2022
England did more than enough to win that, poor discipline and bad substitutions cost us the win. Scotland did enough and kept their heads. Smith coming off and Cowan dickie taking his brain out cost us that! #SCOvENG
— Jacko (@JackThomas91) February 5, 2022
#SCOvENG gutted about the result. No question that that brainless penalty try and yellow cost the game.
Can’t believe that Cowan Dickie was laughing as he came off.
The best thing is that Brian Moore is finally going.
— Richard Crawford-Small (@RCrawfordSmall) February 5, 2022
Well played Scotland. That was all about taking your chances. England didn’t. Scotland did. Brilliant defence from the hosts. Moment of madness from Cowan-Dickie costly. Could argue England should have had a scrum pen at the end. Good game though #SCOvENG #GuinnessSixNations
— George Thorpe (@MrGeorgeThorpe) February 5, 2022
Comments on RugbyPass
A lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
1 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
2 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
2 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
21 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
21 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
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