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'It's not Foley's fault': Ex-All Black comes in to bat for Wallaby flyhalf
By Sam Smith
Former All Black wing John Kirwan has come to the defence of Wallabies flyhalf Bernard Foley after his late game stalling cost his side possession in the dying stages of the first Bledisloe test.
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Speaking on Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown, Kirwan was perplexed at the timing of the call but said that Mathieu Raynal had every right to make it.
The issue of time wasting in general was raised as an area that needs to be tackled by the game’s administrators as it has crept into the modern game at the highest level.
“It’s actually not Foley’s fault, it’s not Raynal’s fault,” Kirwan explained to The Breakdown panel.
“Everyone is time wasting around the world in test match rugby.
“Either props are going down or the game’s being slowed up, encroaching [the gap] at the lineout.
“I’ve just never seen it enforced before.
“So was the referee right? Yes. Was the decision wrong? If you are a New Zealander, no, if you are Australian, yes.
“The trouble is we can’t leave stuff like time wasting up to interpretation.
“The ref was right but no one has seen that rule for a 150 million years.
“I’ve seen it once in my career and it was for a shot at goal. But we’ve got to start thinking about time wasting as a whole and how do we change that.”
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Jeff Wilson put the onus on World Rugby to decide what kind of game they want to see at the showpiece event next year as frustrations grow around the product that many fans feel is over-officiated.
The ex-All Black admitted that the call against Foley ‘wasn’t appropriate’ in the circumstances where it played a heavy influence on the outcome of the game.
“He had every right to make that decision, I think that in this case it wasn’t appropriate,” Wilson said.
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“It may have been the wrong time to make this call. I think this is the opportunity, and we haven’t heard from World Rugby, surprise, surprise, they look at what they want their game to be in 12 months time, at the Rugby World Cup.
“What do they want at the international level? Manipulating the amount of time of ball of play based on what the score is, whether you are down to 14 men, being a bit fatigued so you sit a prop down, all areas that clearly frustrate fans.
“That’s up to World Rugby to decide, the type of rugby they want international rugby to be.”
Refs dont control crooked scrums ,front rows crabbing ,crooked lineouts but a number 10 doesnt hear right and the laws must be protected at all costs. Either train better referees or put the tmos in charge and divide up the pitch with on field assistants anf a specialist fowards ref but stop pretending that world rugby refs are doing anything but a crap job .
Nope, Foley is completely at fault.
If time is stopped for deliberate time wasting, you don't deliberately waste more when it comes back on.
Just because the law hasn't been applied in the past doesn't mean it can't be applied now.
It means it must be applied now moving forward to the world cup.
The law has nothing to do with part time business as that where we create cry babies.
Commentators like Kirwan should know better and actually read the LAW book . I remember when he was a player he did some dirty tactics too ! No OZZY your 10 cost you the game - over 40 seconds of being told to kick it including the Ref calling time out to be triple clear telling the 10 he must play on and he still didnt kick it out with his team mates screaming at him to do so. So who is the real flog, Ozzy blew it and NZ took their opportunity. The Ref could not be more clearer. Tim Horan is a flogger. The whole commentary team need to study the LAW book and get real with their cowboy antics. No wonder Referees are hard to find. The Ref had just officated over one of the best NZ OZZY games for years. Postives everywhere. Over 75 points scroed and it went down to the wire. Which meant the referee kept the game open for 80 minutes a s much as the players mistakes would let him - WELL DONE RAYNAL THE REF OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP - OTHER Postives in OZZYS FAVOUR. The Ref should have checked OZZY Kellaways try forward pass and didnt whilst the 10 quickly kicked the conversion 3x as fast to avoid a review of the pass. The OZZY lock should have got a red card for deliberately & ilegally attacking the knee of the player caught in a ruck.
I agree with you, they could have still won the match if they kept their cool and defended it out.
It would take a man to say: "I wasted time, did not listen to the ref and lost my team the match".
Obviously easier to just blame it on the ref. They are not the only team to do it.
And let's not forget the amount of time wasted by today's refs playing advantage for far too long.
Dead time and one reason I will no longer pay to attend games.
I agree with all the comments made in this article. Something has to be done about time wasting. My Bok team are the biggest culprits.
Back to the insident on Saturday, I feel the ref didn't use common sense. He was right but...
He didn't call for time wasting at many times earlier in the match.
To call out Foley at that time was stupendous.
That call influenced the outcome of the Bledisloe and the Rugby Championship. That is Big.
Foley was also wrong. Kick the ball out man. His forwards can then able up to the lineout, like the Boks do. Win the line out, maul until time is up and kick it into the stand.
This was a massive call at a crucial time in a big match and all parties involved screwed up.
By the way it was an incredible test match to watch here from South Africa.
I do think that all teams when leading with a small margin and 5 minutes on the clock are culprits of time wasting.
Unfortunately that ruins the spectacle and as fans we do not want it, but in a sense it is understandable if you thought hard and are tired it is human to be conservative and protective in your approach.
I am also a Bok supporter and would have been glad for a draw. I agree we just want the refs to be consequent in the way the apply their view of the law.
It left a bitter taste even for me as neutral spectator to end a match like that, Foley was certainly wrong as well.
I guess if Aus regrouped well enough they could have stopped the try as their Defence was good throughout the game, but they were already celebrating the hard thought win.
I disagree.
The ref had enough of the Wallabies' time wasting.
Any player "reading" the ref during the game would have picked up he wanted play to continue asap.
Another Rennie tactic which has backfired.
And to make White acting captain!!!!