I HAD MY DOUBTS about this new Nations Cup, but, if the remaining games, both this month and in the Autumn maintain the standards of the first two games – I'm all for it. There have been some terrific games, in particular the All Blacks v France match-up in week one, and that fantastic try-fest from Loftus Versfeld, between Us and South Africa at the weekend. That was entertainment.
I had to laugh at the view our Imperial Overlords south of the Solway and Tweed took of the game: “South African C Team” appeared to be the view from London and the Home Counties. This overlooks the fact, South Africa has such strength in depth, yes, they probably could field three international-class sides.
I honestly thought we had a chance in this one, but, while we gave it a real go and caused them far-more bother than England had the previous week, we fell short. But, better to have given the World Champions a stiff work-out and fallen short, than to have done a Flat Track Bully act on arguably the weakest team in Tier One – a team reduced to 14 men for most of the game.
There was much to admire about our performance in Pretoria, and for all the talk about the men not playing in green – we were short one or two arguable first-choices too; perhaps not as many as our hosts, but, we still had a fair amount of talent in the stands.
I was brought up in the days when Scotland's front five was feared across the globe – the virtual all-Ayrshire Mean Machine. Before them, the likes of McLeod, Bruce and Rollo was as good a front row as you could wish for. Tom Smith and David Sole were also props to be feared, but, I feel, right now, we have nobody of that standard and until we do find such men again – we will continue to struggle in the big games.
Rassie Erasmus had some nice things to say about us post-match. Hopefully Gregor Townsend isn't paying too-much heed, I think he is well aware that Dr Rassie is almost at the Sir Alex Ferguson level when it comes to playing mind games with opposition coaches.
I HAVE BEEN, for years now, calling for a total overhaul of the Laws of the Game and how these laws are policed on the field. Saturday's games offered I feel, further proof of how much-needed this has become. However, there is absolutely no sign of World Rugby being ready to act.
There were several controversial incidents in the games, which had the keyboard warriors somewhat disturbed. First, the most-significant decision – the fact wee Hollie Davidson used the ultimate sanction and correctly red-carded the Fijian scrum-half for his kick on the chest of England's Ellis Genge.
Can I say, immediately, I have no doubt – Genge was pinning his opponent in the ruck, however, he was fly enough to let go and have his arms out in a gesture of innocence, before he was booted in the chest. Therefore, since there was no clear TV evidence of Genge infringing, Hollie had no option but to penalise the one clear offence shown – the Fijian's kick.
Now, there is a fashion, in modern Rugby, for referees to flourish a yellow card, then use the crossed arms signal to indicate, the yellow card has been passed up the line to the bunker, leaving the FPRO – Fair Play Review Officer – to make the final decision.
To me, this is a clear dereliction of duty, Law 6.5 states quite clearly:
Within the playing enclosure:
a. The referee, alongside the other appointed match officials, is the sole judge of fact and of law during a match. Match officials must apply the laws of the game fairly in every match.
That, to me, means, it's the Match Referee's call, not the TMO's – not the FPRO's, they are there to assist the referee, not make decisions for him. In going with the straight red card and not taking the soft option of the deferred yellow, Hollie struck a blow for the Laws.
I also had no problems with the yellow card shown to the South African replacement lock after his head made contact with Scott Cummings' nose. I didn't see it as a deliberate butt, but, it was contact, so in that instance, a yellow sufficed, I felt.
Pierre Brousset, to be honest, didn't have the best of games. His failure to penalise that moment when the Saffa lock was carried downfield after catching a kick-off was a poor mistake – one of several.
Another refereeing mistake, I felt, came in the Scotland v Argentine, Under-20s game; when Scotland's Rory McHaffie was adjudged to have leapt over a tackle at the start of a length of the park breakaway. I felt it was the impetus of a low tackle by the Argentinian boy which flipped Mchaffie. Mind you, the fact he failed to touch down at the end of his run was disappointing, so, maybe the wrong call on the tackle saved his blushes.
The U-20s are cheering us all up in this tournament. Let's hope they can see off the Welsh in the fifth/sixth play-off to keep the feel-good factor high.
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