Antoine Dupont's 'clear and obvious' take on missed calls in France's quarter-final loss

What are the stages of grief?

denial.

anger.

bargaining. ———> France is here

depression.

acceptance.

Well I do think that France can feel aggrieved that in “earning” the penalty which lead to the winning kick for his side Kwagga Smith actually broke the rules by placing his hand on the ground before challenging the ball. So rather than gaining a makeable kick they lose 3 and lose by 1. What I don’t understand is if the TMO can intervene to note a knock on leading to a try why they can’t advise that a call that’s not open for interpretation, like at a scrum, should actually go the other way.

OKAY we all know humans have a tendency to be infallible.

I was reading an article where O’Keefe had been criticised for three blunders.

The journalist had played the situations in slow motion, then consulted the rule book. O'Keefe calls were correct in all three situations.

Some of us should study the rule book methinks……..

Nickers, what I said was he batted the ball DEAD, not over the sideline in goal. Either way it’s a penalty kick to France on the 5m line. Quite clear in the Laws of the game.

Curious use of the HIA protocols by the Boks. Almost as if their rolling door replacements in the second half were planned. Surely the Boks wouldn’t stoop to that?

I only refereed for two seasons before starting to coach. As a referee I was quite unique as I never missed a thing or made a bad decision. I was much the same as a player and cannot understand to this day why I was never selected for England.

Todays players are very good and so is the standard of refereeing but both make mistakes. It alway was and always will be but in my day there was no I in team and nobody blamed referees because they’d lost.

One point, just one point, is all it takes to cripple a nation…

It must be safe to assume that all the hysterical vitriol directed towards SA as a team and as a nation - in the comments below - is by either French, Irish or English nationals?

The nature of Rugby is that in every match there are loads of wrong or missed decisions against a certain team but also against their opponents as well, which makes it look as if your team was cheated if you are only focusing on the decisions that were against you.

There were several wrong calls that went against SA at crucial moments as well. That doesn’t mean Ben O’Keefe was particularly bad either, as this happens almost every game, regardless of who the ref is. Usually what fluctuates is not the referee, but how one-eyed the fans or players are in a given moment. Hence the number of complaints about the ref after crucial matches.

Furthermore, if the game happens to be a 1 pointer like this one, it is all the more tempting to think “if that decision was different we would have won”, but SA can also point to wrong decisions without which their winning margin would have been significantly wider.

Saffa here. I genuinely feel terrible for both Ireland and France who both have outstanding players and teams. Both deserved at minimum a semifinal. There were a couple of decisions that went our way, but I thought O’Keefe did a great job of not disrupting the game too much. Balancing allowing a free flowing game with penalizing clear infractions is a tough job. I feel the refs could blow the whistle every 20 secs if they wanted. On another day the result would have gone to France.

“French President Emmanuel Macron provided solace to his country’s players in the dressing room after the match….” I thought they were just wild rumours by his political opponents…..

When losing a game by one point after having a conversion charged down, it's a bit rich to be looking at the referee as the reason you lost. Referees are human and will always make the odd mistake or interpret what they see a little differently. A french flanker also pretty much pulled Faf into a scrum to give Dupont a free run, which wasn't pulled by the ref. Swings and roundabouts.

Sorry is my glasses dirty is guy or gay.

All those coach called HIA’s by the Boks were within the rules but that loophole needs closing. They rotated their key forwards calling them off for an HIA one by one after emptying the bench. That must have been enormously beneficial.

Ultimately not sure why Dupont seriously thought a kiwi ref was going to be impartial, no way did the AB’s want to play the French at home in the final.

DON'T SQUEAL!! - Dr Danie Craven

In 1979 or 1980, Doc Craven, that late, great doyen of South African Rugby, once addressed a Valedictory Assembly at one of the great rugby schools of its time - Queen' College.

His message came through. Don't squeal! Not on the rugby field. Not off the rugby field. When you are tackled, when you are hurt, when you lose, when you briefly lose your support - either on the field or off the field - Don't Squeal!"

Get up, put up! Play up! Bear the knocks with honour! Be a better man than those that knock you down.

Just don't squeal!

Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell are cast from the same mould. Squealers both! Squealing at the ref, squealing at the opposition, squealing when they lose; squealing when things don't go their own way.

Many a schoolboy (and these days a schoolgirl) could learn from these examples of what NOT to do!

Esse Quam Videri

To Be, Rather Than To Seem To Be

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE - NO RESPECT

I did not hear the New Zealand crowds boo the ref, or boo the opposition I did not hear the Tonga crowds jeering and hissing during their opposition's national anthem. I did not hear the Fiji supporters booing, did not hear the Argentinian supporters hissing. Neither the South Africans nor the Australians - no boo, no hiss, no whistle, no jeer!

BUT... I heard the English crowds, the Scottish and Welsh supporters, the Irish fans, the French assemblage - ALL hissed, booed, jeered and whistled!

They did so when their opponents ran onto the field, the did so when the ref blew against them, they did so during the moment's silence, they did so during the haka, they did so when their opponents scored, when their opponents were kicking at goal; in fact at every opportunity!

Soccer hooliganism creeping into the game of rugby union in the Northern Hemisphere countries?

These countries could learn more than the game of rugby! Sore losers off the field, sore losers on the field; and not even gracious winners!

1995:

1-The day before the South Africa - New Zealand final, the New Zealanders are poisoned. They have 80% of their guys sick.

2- At the reception, the president of the South African federation gives a special prize to the referee, a watch worth 30,000 euros.

2023

Was it also a watch this time?

Richard good on you! I thought Ireland would win and backed them.

Never been a Sam Cane fan and he played one of the “Best Captain’s Games I’ve seen in an All Black jersey.

Kiwis and Yarpies are obsessed with Rugby. In NZ when France beat the AB’s at Cardiff our “Retail spending for the following week

went down by 39%. .

All a bit of fun Richard. Anything can happen and the AB’s proved that against Ireland.

Good Luck with England!

Dupont is a magnificent player, one of the best. As a S.African I feel for him. The game could have gone either way. Really amazing game we witnessed.

In such a close game whoever loses will be able to find many things that went against them that cost them the game. The Kwagga Smith turnover was obviously crucial - this should have ben a penalty to France, Ramos probably a 95% chance of getting it from there, so it’s a 6 point swing in SA’s favour.

Ireland can probably do the same, as would NZ if Ireland had pinched a try at the end. Fiji were very hard done by, and had England lost by 1 they would have been doing something similar.

Death, taxes, and complaining about the referee.

Dupont just upset and emotional after the game. When he has had time to sit down and reflect he's going to go cold, he cost France the game. Ten minutes to go, you ahead by less than one score and he opts for posts, which still puts them less than one score ahead. If you had asked Bongi with ten minutes to go with that scoreline "give France three points and you can then go play in their twenty five, or don't give them three but then you keep playing in your twenty five" his decision would have been to go play in France's twenty five. Ten minutes to go that decision cost them the game, not the ref

“I don’t want to be a bad loser and moan about the refereeing but I’m not sure the level of refereeing was up the level of the game today”, and yet here you are mouthing off……

What happened when Eben cut off that pass.was that an attempt at intercept? Why no penalty?

Dupont would probably point at the Kwagga Smith turn over where he wasnt supporting his body weight and 1-2 other questionable calls that went against them but with their vociferous home support there were so many more questionable calls that went in their favour truth be told as is normally the case with home support

Good on you Chris. These Northern Hemisphere Boys certainly know how to “whinge”

Mind you the Poms haven’t won a World Cup in the beautiful game since 1966. . . There seems to be a “Trend in their genetical make up” about moaning when they get rolled.

Can’t wait to see Farrell cry when the ‘Boks shred the Poms”

Of course the draw favoured the Poms, cause they make the rules.

See you in the ‘Final Chris” That will be a war. Yet after the game we’ll have a beer and a laugh and we won’t Fkn moan about the ref or how “we were cheated” or you punched me in the ruck or you head butted me….. We will leave all that bullshit to the Poms and the home nations.

That game was worthy of a final.

Never ever write the springboks off. DuPont thought they would be way too much for us. My bru, just because you are a better team doesn’t mean we can’t beat you ✌️ it’s called guts, grit and determination

Isn’t it IRONIC how nobody gave a damn about the calls Wayne Barnes made AGAINST SA in NOV22?

Dupont should be more humble in defeat. You would never hear Kolisi or Sam Cane complain about 50/50 calls that they “should’ve” had.

They went BOTH ways. Macalou went off feet clearly sealing the ball when the clock was in the RED right infront of Ken o’Beefe and he said good clearout.

Sour Grapes. Learn something from the Irish you frog.

Aagh shame poor boykie sounds like a case of sour grapes

Grief does the talking as usual after such traumatic events.

Well it makes a nice change when its not The Waterboy complaining about the ref. Oh, thats right, Sth Africa won.