[2013 TRC] South Africa vs. Australia in Cape Town (28/09/2013)

[Saint Matt]

Disappointing game on the whole. Australia improved after Half-Time but the game was practically won by that point. Lots of errors from both sides and the game lacked any real flow.

As I say, the Wallabies were never going to come back after the back-to-back tries South Africa scored in the First-Half. Seemed to be a case of will SA find the bonus point in the Second-Half which wasn't great from a neutral point of view. Both sides will take certain positives out of it but plenty to work on in both camps.

As I said earlier, it was worth tuning in simply to watch Fourie Du Preez. Controlled everything from 9 and his distribution was exceptional. Reads the game so well.

 

[Draggs]

Took our foot off the gas once Hooper was carded.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Yeah, Aus didn't really lose much despite this being a 20 point defeat. Next week though they play Arg and I expect a cracker; wooden spoon at stake and Arg will probably be desperate to get their first TRC win under the belt and they won't get a much better opportunity than next week IMO. Aus don't have anything to gain except some pride and while a loss of less than 15 points won't see them fall a place it will mean that they'll be only a hair's breath above both France and Wales. A loss by 15+ will see them slide below France and Wales to 6th but I can't see Argentina beating them by such a margin yet.

 

[Big Ewis]

Yeah, Aus didn't really lose much despite this being a 20 point defeat. Next week though they play Arg and I expect a cracker; wooden spoon at stake and Arg will probably be desperate to get their first TRC win under the belt and they won't get a much better opportunity than next week IMO. Aus don't have anything to gain except some pride and while a loss of less than 15 points won't see them fall a place it will mean that they'll be only a hair's breath above both France and Wales. A loss by 15+ will see them slide below France and Wales to 6th but I can't see Argentina beating them by such a margin yet.

well thx for the info about the IRB stuff there. And that's right, Argentina probably can't do it - win by 15+.
I do think Argentina will win it though...and honestly, Australia at 6th given their current complexion would not even look surprising, but almost fitting really.

 

[TRF_heineken]

What happened to Kurt's eye?!?

Bad car accident...

 

[Jaguares]

Well, considering the crisis that's hurting Aussies at this time, losing by 20 points in SA isn't a bad result. I think they can win in Rosario. Last year had the worst Wallabies team ever in Argentina and still managed to win, then I think they still have a chance to win in Rosario.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

On the bright side (sadly philosophically and not of any practical value) I think it is a good sign for Bok rugby that a win by 20 points over a top team like Aus (current form notwithstanding) is cnsidered not good enough.

What I got from this match;
FdP is just a class above what we have otherwise. Even if he is unavailable I don't want to see Pienaar Ruan another game for us- see what I did there? Very clever. I pray Hougaard gets back to some form to deputize seeing as Vermaak is also off to France.
Flip van der Merwe and to a lesser extent Zane Kirchner are stop-gaps. Pity both Juandre Kruger and Gerhard Mostert are based in France as I think Flippie wouldn't have had the chances he has had otherwise. He is solid enough but IMO doesn't add a whole lot and is prone to ill discipline. I hope with PSdT noow back on his feet we'll see him get an extended run in the no.5 jersey and we'll see how he goes and if he can deliver on his potential. Other than that we have Goosen and Taute to play at 10 and 15 when fit so we are not stuck for choices if not for injury. Le Roux could always have another run at 15 when JP Petersen is back and there is always Lambie getting the cold shoulder. Would also love to see brussow have a go while Louw is at Bath; think we are losing out big time there and that Brussow can have a massive effect on a game BUT things are taking shape and I have some trust in HM.

 

[Saint Matt]

Well, considering the crisis that's hurting Aussies at this time, losing by 20 points in SA isn't a bad result. I think they can win in Rosario. Last year had the worst Wallabies team ever in Argentina and still managed to win, then I think they still have a chance to win in Rosario.

It's not a bad result on the face of it but there is more to it than that. South Africa had the game won inside 25 minutes today. They took their foot of the gas allowing the Wallabies to regain some credibility. They really were poor at times today, no matter how you dress it up.

Argentina have their faults, but they are aggressive at the breakdown and are capable of disrupting teams. Obviously tonight's game against the All Blacks will play a significant part but one expects that they will be confident going into the game next week. On current form, I just don't see a spark in that Australian back line capable of breaking a side like Argentina down.

Should be an interesting one either way.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't quite understand why Timani didn't start, I know he's not the greatest player but he offers the physicality that Australia are so desperately (!) lacking ATM.

A team with Timani, Polota-Nau, Pocock and Higginbotham added will drastically change the Wallabies' potential IMO.

What was Mowen doing when he rushed out of the defensive line before the Le Roux(?) try?!?... he left Timani with a 25 metre gap to defend!!!

 

[Draggs]

Etzebeth, what a player. Just can't wait to see him and du Toit together.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I don't quite understand why Timani didn't start, I know he's not the greatest player but he offers the physicality that Australia are so desperately (!) lacking ATM.

A team with Timani, Polota-Nau, Pocock and Higginbotham added will drastically change the Wallabies' potential IMO.

What was Mowen doing when he rushed out of the defensive line before the Le Roux(?) try?!?... he left Timani with a 25 metre gap to defend!!!

Yip, that's what I've been saying as well. And you can add Palu at 8 there as well. 6Higgs, 7Pocock, 8 Palu and that is a backrow miles better (Hooper is some player mind you but lacks Pocock's.. robustness) than what they are currently fielding. I'm not sure that Timani and TPN will up their tight 5 all that much though. Sure, it'll be a nett increase in their ability to compete but they'd still have a fairly weakish tight 5 IMO but they've shown in the past they can be more than competitive if they just get a shadow of parity up front so maybe that'll be enough for them.

Etzebeth, what a player. Just can't wait to see him and du Toit together.

I can't wait and both so young still!!

I didn't think we were going to replace the Botha/Matfield combo so quickly. While Botha was all about the hurt and Matfield rarely got overly physical here we now have two quite 'complete' young locks but they still have a LONGgggggg way to go but its looking promising!

 

[Jaguares]

I don't quite understand why Timani didn't start, I know he's not the greatest player but he offers the physicality that Australia are so desperately (!) lacking ATM.

A team with Timani, Polota-Nau, Pocock and Higginbotham added will drastically change the Wallabies' potential IMO.

What was Mowen doing when he rushed out of the defensive line before the Le Roux(?) try?!?... he left Timani with a 25 metre gap to defend!!!

It's what I said, buddy:

http://www.therugbyforum.com/showth...he-strongest-squad-that-can-present-Wallabies

For me:

1 Benn Robinson
2 Stephen Moore
3 Ben Alexander
4 Sitaleki Timani
5 James Horwill
6 Michael Hooper
7 David Pocock
8 Scott Higginbotham

You know about rugby, anyone who knows about this realizes the situation. So I say, Wallabies have the potential, when they take the field to these three players together (Timani, Pocock and Higginbotham) plus Michael Hooper and James Horwill they will have a better chance. Their package of forwards is suffering for this reason, when they will have those players will be better and they will beat any opponent.

Cheers

 

[smartcooky]

Some of the yellow card call were just plain wrong. One of them was wrong in Law and therefore a possible Law error.

1st Yellow Card: 27 min against Gold 7 for a dangerous tackle.
IMO, this was not even a penalty kick. The Green player jumped into the tackle, making contact with Gold 7's shoulder as he stooped to tackle him. There was no lift and the rotation of the Green player was purely down to his feet being off the ground while he was in forward motion. What was Gold 7 supposed to, just vanish?

However, in the aftermath, there was some handbags during which Green 3 makes, IMO, intentional contact with the eyes of a Gold player. This should have been a RC against Green 3.

2nd Yellow Card: 39 min against Green 5 for striking
Green 5 used an intentional, swinging elbow to the face of the Gold ball-carrier. Even the South African commentator said it was "a shocker". For me, this a stone-cold Red Card, all day, every day.

3rd Yellow Card: 66 min against Green 8 for intentional knock on
Fair call, no problem

4th Yellow Card: 74 min against Gold 19 for striking
Gold 19 launched forearm first into a pair of players (one Gold, one Green) on the ground. His forearm misses the Green player completely, and strikes the Gold player. This is not even a penalty, let alone a yellow card...

[TEXTAREA]10.4 DANGEROUS PLAY AND MISCONDUCT
(a) Punching or striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).
Sanction: Penalty kick[/TEXTAREA]

It is not an offence to strike a team-mate, only an opponent. IMO, this is a Law error by Garces.

Summary
Out of the four yellow cards he gave, he only got one right. Prior to issuing the first yellow card, he had asked the TMO, Graham Hughes, for advice on the dangerous tackle and the handbags that occurred afterwards, then once he saw the tackle on the big screen, he cut the TMO off before he had finished speaking. Essentially, it looks like he forgot that he had asked about the handbags as well. This means he missed a potentially serious offence by Green 3, the possible eye-gouge.

IMO, Garces performance was well below the standards required for this competition.

 

[Tony Manx]

IMO, Garces performance was well below the standards required for this competition.

But not for a French ref.......you want to see what the guys are saying about Berdos in the Basque derby today!!

 

[austingtir]

Some of the yellow card call were just plain wrong. One of them was wrong in Law and therefore a possible Law error.

1st Yellow Card: 27 min against Gold 7 for a dangerous tackle.
IMO, this was not even a penalty kick. The Green player jumped into the tackle, making contact with Gold 7's shoulder as he stooped to tackle him. There was no lift and the rotation of the Green player was purely down to his feet being off the ground while he was in forward motion. What was Gold 7 supposed to, just vanish?

However, in the aftermath, there was some handbags during which Green 3 makes, IMO, intentional contact with the eyes of a Gold player. This should have been a RC against Green 3.

2nd Yellow Card: 39 min against Green 5 for striking
Green 5 used an intentional, swinging elbow to the face of the Gold ball-carrier. Even the South African commentator said it was "a shocker". For me, this a stone-cold Red Card, all day, every day.

3rd Yellow Card: 66 min against Green 8 for intentional knock on
Fair call, no problem

4th Yellow Card: 74 min against Gold 19 for striking
Gold 19 launched forearm first into a pair of players (one Gold, one Green) on the ground. His forearm misses the Green player completely, and strikes the Gold player. This is not even a penalty, let alone a yellow card...

[TEXTAREA]10.4 DANGEROUS PLAY AND MISCONDUCT
(a) Punching or striking. A player must not strike an opponent with the fist or arm, including the elbow, shoulder, head or knee(s).
Sanction: Penalty kick[/TEXTAREA]

It is not an offence to strike a team-mate, only an opponent. IMO, this is a Law error by Garces.

Summary
Out of the four yellow cards he gave, he only got one right. Prior to issuing the first yellow card, he had asked the TMO, Graham Hughes, for advice on the dangerous tackle and the handbags that occurred afterwards, then once he saw the tackle on the big screen, he cut the TMO off before he had finished speaking. Essentially, it looks like he forgot that he had asked about the handbags as well. This means he missed a potentially serious offence by Green 3, the possible eye-gouge.

IMO, Garces performance was well below the standards required for this competition.

Seems bizzare to me that SA is playing that dirty in this particular game. To me this SA team is going to get its self a bit of a reputation as a bunch of thugs if they continue to carry on like this. I would be suprised if the AB's dont point out all of these incidents pre game next week.

You could argue on yellow number 4 that the intent was there to strike the opposition player he just missed and got his own. Its debatable imo weather the Ref actually got it wrong in this instance. Yes your correct to the law but end of day It was probably a correct decision.

 

[smartcooky]

You could argue on yellow number 4 that the intent was there to strike the opposition player he just missed and got his own. Its debatable imo weather the Ref actually got it wrong in this instance. Yes your correct to the law but end of day It was probably a correct decision.

I can understand why Garces carded him, but I still think that referees, at this level especially, should not be making up Law as they go along. There is no penalty for "a swing and a miss" or "attempting" to strike an opponent, although I would argue that there should be.

If a referee I was assessing did what Garces did there, I would be marking him down for a Law Error, and if I did that myself, I would not be able to argue against my assessor markling me down for one either.

 

[William18]

This shows the ridiculousness of some South Africans who claimed "woe is me" after the All Blacks' game. Yes, it was a bad call but bad yellow cards are given out at an alarmingly regular rate.

 

[Saint Matt]

Etzebeth, what a player. Just can't wait to see him and du Toit together.

Thought the former was tremendous today for the Boks. Provides them with such physicality in the loose but he can play as well. Strong all round game and looks to be improving.

I think that was the difference in the end really. Australia desperately lacked ball carriers up front to provide that platform where as South Africa are full of them. On the back of that, the likes of Du Preez took control and the pace out wide turned those opportunities into points.

 

[Big Ewis]

k so what's left now is who gets the Spoon and who wins the RC next weekend...

 

[Andronicus]

Not sure where the woeful Wallabies go from here. That was a poor, error ridden performance.