CrapRefs.com

A careful examination of the scrum exchanges in the first half of the first test shows that the Springbok loose head prop was pushing upwards and inwards at every opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sore on Mtawarira. In fact, as an ex-prop, I applaud his tactics in the vain of ‘if you can [...]

If it is a strategy to divert attention from the comments of coach Peter deVilliers then it is quite well constructed – perhaps because it was masterminded by someone other than De Villiers (i.e. captain John Smit and the South African Players Association). [Originally uploaded by vatland] The rule that ‘players must be bound when [...]

He wasn’t even on the field for the 3rd test but he had an influence on the game – this time as the TMO denying a try to Springbok flyer, Odwa Ndungane which looked like it should have been awarded. Even the Times thought it was a ‘perfectly good try’. The reaction of the South [...]

Bray: “I admire the fact he saw it, because often these incidents are missed because they happen away from the ball and on the ground, so I thought he did an admirable job of seeing it in the first place.” Hmmmm … the TV shot clearly showed Lawrence was standing a few short meters from [...]

Three points about the eye-gouge It would have been unfortunate for such a great and fiercely fought match to have been decided like that It is always a shame for the spectacle of test match rugby when a red card influences the outcome – even when it is fully deserved (as it was in this [...]

Berdos was under some pressure before the game even started First test referee Bryce Lawrence had penalised the hell out of the Lions in the first half and made a complete hash of the scrums causing a furore in the British press Loftus is a caldron at the best of times The Lions had to [...]

While not a test match, it is being hailed as the ’4th test’ by rugby pundits. It’s certainly going to be a test for irish referee Allain Rolland after all the talk about officiating during this tour. If you listen to some, he’s the best referee in world rugby but here at CrapRefs, we can’t [...]

French coach mark Marc Lievremont struggled to fathom some of referee Marius Jonker’s decisions around the ruck in France’s narrow loss to the All Blacks in the second test in Wellington. The All Blacks played a lot better than they did in the first half, taking it to the French at every opportunity and actually [...]

A huge emphasis is being placed on refereeing interpretations going into the first test between South Africa and the Lions. The Lions tour seems to be as much about refereeing interpretations as it is about playing styles – and the latter are certainly influenced by the former. Super14 matches are refereed in a different manner [...]

In part of his criticism of the inconsistent calls at scrum time by referee Wayne Barnes, Brian Moore pointed out that “the successful penalty by James Hook in the 49th minute, awarded for the Cheetah’s front row standing up, turned out to be difference between the teams. Cheetah supporters will, rightly, point out that in [...]