CrapRefs.com

The wallabies started very well but they were always going to need the close calls to go their way if they were going to remain in the hunt against the home side in great form.

But the close calls did not go their way. Referee Allain Rolland was particularly aggressive at ruck time, giving the benefit of the doubt to the attacking side and on occasion, the home side.

Matt Giteau’s brain explosion pretty much sealed the Australian’s fate however.

The lack of further discipline has some Springbok fans crying foul but I think the record of the players should be considered. Which player is always seen entering frays both before and after the whistle has been blown?

Hard to imagine Matt Gitteau pushing people around like Bakkies Botha seems to think is his role and right.

Richard Brown was a little unfortunate, having been the tackler who grabbed the ball in the post-tackle but Allain Rolland ruled that the ruck had formed – a 50/50 call.

These kinds of calls have a huge impact on the tone of the game at the time. On another day, Brown could have been a hero, turning over the ball when the Springboks were in full flight, giving a potential counter-attacking opportunity for the sprightly Wallaby back line.

George Smith on the other hand deserved his yellow card for a cynical move at the ruck, reaching through interfering with half back, DuPreez.

Rolland had well and truly set the seen at ruck time and so there can be no argument with this call.

Overall, the Australians didn’t help themselves. They didn’t adjust to Rolland’s reading of the game to remain competitive at the breakdown.

Tony Smith from the Christchurch Press reckons rugby should experiment with 2 referees immediately. It’s working for Rugby League in Australia and it could help with the scrums in union, especially if one of them were a former front-rower as Smith recommends.

It’s unlikely player-convert Glen Jackson will be able to help in that facet of the game but it does seem a little obvious not to have considered and already contracted ex-front rowers to provide some insights for into the finest aspect of the game.

For example, it would have been easy to see that Al Baxter was simply struggling with his binding rather than cheating in the weekend’s All Blacks v Australia test.

Irish referee, George Clancy gave 4 penalties against Italy at scrum time on their own put in.

There was another highly questionable penalty call against the Italians at a ruck penalty call against them on the 25 minute mark, which resulted in 3 points to the All Blacks, taking the margin to 13.

Even the kiwi commentators thought it was harsh – always a tell-tale sign that the referee got it wrong.

Then, Italy were unlucky with a penalty kick o their own that fell just short 2mins before the break that would have made it 13-6, a better psychological prognosis going into half time. 13-3 flattered the All Blacks who only showed glimpses rather than genuine signs of ascendency.

In the second half, Italy chose against a kick at goal. If earlier refereeing calls had gone their way (and the margin a lot closer), Italy would surely have taken the kick and who knows where the game could have been at that point.

To be seriously competitive, weaker teams need to possess several key characteristics
1. Strong Kicking
Tactical, line kicking, goal kicking and drop-goals
2. Strong set pieces

Between these two elements, teams can stay competitive and even win games

3. Defend like their lives depended upon it
This is the real key for many teams and something Italy had for 75% of the game.

Superior desire wins rugby games at every level.

Then, to really threaten, weaker teams also need:
4. More than their share of the 50-50 calls – Italy got maybe 20% of these (if they were lucky).
5. Some penetration – Italy had 2-3 genuine moments that unfortunately did not result in tries
6. Some luck

While they didn’t have a lot of bad luck, they didn’t get any good luck either.

A penalty was (correctly) awarded for a defensive player being taken in the air from an attacking bomb that was the Italians best opportunity for a try.

If they had a bit of luck, they would have scored from this.

Bottom line: This was a very solid Italian performance that they would have been even better had the referee not been guessing at scrum-time. With a little luck, it could have been a very close game.

NZ Referee Lyndon Bray

Originally uploaded by RugbyHair

A blast from the past for New Zealand referee administrator, Lyndon Bray.

Pictured here as a linesman for an NPC game early in his career (c. 1994).

Unfortunately Lyndon woud proceed to lose most of his hair, robbing the rugby world of expressions of style like the one pictured here.

The Irish met the physical challenge of New Zealand right from the start of this match. Their large pack and powerful scrum were a handful for the kiwis.

It was unfortunate that the a yellow card was the definitive turning point in an exciting encounter.

The New Zealand fullback was sin-binned in the first half for a reckless challenge on Ian Madigan who had jumped to catch a high ball but the yellow card to Irish centre Nevin Spence, was a little less clear cut.

Spence had been a real threat all game, breaking the line several times and just missing a try in the corner so it was unfortunate that he was sin-binned for a defensive infringement at a ruck, 20 minutes into the second half.