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Ref Watch: Why Wallaby boss Dave Rennie is well wide of the mark
By Paul Smith
Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie went on the record to blast TMO Marius Jonker following his team’s last-minute defeat to Wales on Saturday.
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The normally considered Kiwi was clearly infuriated by a number of decisions which went against his team and it was the experienced South African official – a former international referee who was part of the 2007 World Cup – who bore the brunt of his ire.
“I thought some of the decision-making tonight by the officials was horrendous and played a big part in the result,” Rennie said.
“Kurtley Beale got sin-binned for slapping the ball down. They did the same thing, clearly goes forward and they get seven points out of it.
“If we’re going to have a TMO, there’s no excuse for not getting the decision right, and we saw another example of that tonight. Everyone’s accountable – or they should be. We’re accountable as players and coaches, and we’ve got to make sure officials are also accountable.
“Marius’ decision a couple of weeks ago decided the game, and yet he was appointed again. There isn’t any accountability around guys who are making errors that are deciding Test matches.
“The reason the TMO was brought in to the game was to get the right decision.
“After the Scotland game, Marius’s decision to sin bin Alaalatoa, we were told, was the wrong decision, it wasn’t a yellow card. These are big moments – and getting an apology during the week after is not good enough.”
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"When Andy Brace has another look at the game only his management of England’s high penalty count will seriously trouble him" ??????? ? ??https://t.co/jrAO93QTtO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 21, 2021
Jonker played a prominent part on six occasions during the match – here RugbyPass refereeing and laws specialist Paul Smith gives his verdict on each incident.
14 minutes – Rob Valetini red card
Jonker drew referee Mike Adamson’s attention to the incident which caused Adam Beard to leave the field with a cut to the head.
After the on-field officiating team watched a replay the referee needed no assistance from his TMO to reach a simple verdict.
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“There’s a high level of danger, he’s come from distance with force,” former Scotland Sevens representative Dickson summarised.
“The tackler is upright I see no mitigation, it is a red card.”
Verdict: Spot on from the officials.
21 minutes – Kurtley Beale yellow card
Jonker again drew Adamson’s attention to Beale knocking a pass forward to prevent Louis Rees-Zammit getting possession around ten metres from the Australia line and around seven metres in from touch.
The discussion between the officials focused on the Wallaby full back’s arm being in an “unnatural” position while replays showed his eyes to be on the ball rather than a potential tackle.
Clearly Wales were denied the opportunity to continue an attack in a promising position by Beale’s illegal intervention.
The presence of cover in the form of Andrew Kellaway meant a try was not a probable outcome which removed any possibility of a penalty try award.
Verdict: A yellow card was consistent with how this type of offence is now typically handled and the process followed by the officials followed the textbook.
32 minutes – Penalty against Andrew Kellaway
Jonker was again called into action when the big Wallaby winger mis-timed his jump and in the process clumsily flattened Josh Adams.
In the subsequent phase of play Wales knocked the ball down much as Beale previously had.
After a big screen review Adamson awarded a penalty against Kellaway but deemed the collision short of a yellow card. He also explained to Wallaby captain James Slipper that the subsequent technical offence became irrelevant following this penalty award.
Verdict: Again, impossible to fault the officials
The Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies travelled to Europe as the top three sides in the world but is that still the pecking order in anyone's minds? #AllBlacks #Srpingboks #Wallabieshttps://t.co/kIa4oZm0GS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 21, 2021
39 minutes – Tom Wright high tackle penalty
This time Adamson asked for a review of Wright’s grab of Adams’ collar from behind.
Verdict – There was no doubt about the penalty and Wright was perhaps fortunate to escape ten minutes on the naughty step.
47 minutes – Nick Tompkins knock down
This was the match-turning decision which really riled Rennie but despite his protestations in truth its similarities with the earlier Beale incident were only passing.
In real time everyone – including referee Adamson and the Wales centre – hesitated immediately following the knock-down and it was apparent from the reaction of both sets of players that few thought a try would be awarded.
Indeed, had the knock-down been shown to have gone forward it would probably have resulted in a yellow card because, while it was 50 metres from the Wales line, Australia had a number of players in the wide channel which meant it stopped a developing attack.
However, once Adamson told Jonker that his on-field view was that the ball went backwards from Tompkins’ outstretched hand, the TMO had to find conclusive evidence with which to overturn the referee’s decision.
Video replays then showed Wales no.13 got his hand beyond the ball, meaning it dropped directly down rather than going forwards, meaning no such evidence existed.
“I believe that ball has gone backwards,” Adamson told the TMO after viewing various slo-mo angles.
The direction in which the ball bounces once hitting the ground is irrelevant and despite Slipper’s protests the try stood.
Verdict – The process followed was fine; this is all about the lack of clear evidence with which a 50-50 onfield call could be overturned. Tough on Australia but not incorrect.
How Dave Rennie's side rated in Cardiff against Wales. #WALvAUS https://t.co/OdvWjBRkwx
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 21, 2021
57 minutes – Gareth Thomas yellow card
Following replacement prop Allan Alaalatoa’s marginally high tackle Wales replacement Thomas attempted a clear-out on the ground and in the process hit the Wallaby no.18 on the head with his right arm.
“A wrap rather than a swinging arm,” was how Adamson saw the incident according to the conversation he had with Jonker.
“I am not seeing a high degree of danger,” he added.
Verdict: On another day with another referee (who deemed the force more substantial) this could well have been a red card under the existing protocol. It will be interesting to see if a citing follows.
A lucky escape for Wales perhaps, but unlike last week’s Fijian sending off, this was not a situation which the TMO had reason to challenge the referee’s judgement based on the reasoning provided and available evidence.
Lot of Welsh/Brits commenting I see. Spineless and arrogant as expected.. You can lead a horse to water and all that..
A deliberate knock ON is a penalty and potential yellow card, a deliberate knock backwards is play on. as if its up for discussion lol
I'm really not sure why people have such difficulty taking some of the most basic laws of rugby and applying them to what happens on the field.
One of the most basic laws is that if you compete for the ball in the air - either from a pass or a kick - then it can't go forwards from the point of contact. It can bounce forwards off the floor but what happens from the player to the floor is what counts. So it is perfectly legal to reach forward and slap the ball back or, indeed, straight down.
If a player attempts to stop a pass being completed then intent and the position of play comes into effect. If a player is attempting to intercept or they have got into a position to slap the ball backwards but it goes forwards then it is ruled a knock-on and results in a scrum because they intended to play the ball legally. That is what Tompkins did. He ran into the line and attempted to catch the ball, it didn't go forwards and he was able to regather the ball and was already clear of the defence becuase he was attempting to intercept.
If you attempt to simply stick out an arm in the hope of disrupting the pass but with no realistic atempt to be able to play the ball legally then it is a deliberate knock-on and a foul. This is what Beale did. He was commited to the tackle but seeing Tompkins was passing the ball he swung his arm in an attempt to stop the pass, not to legally gain the ball but simply to stop the pass. Most likely it was an involuntry reaction but the effect is the same as a deliberate act and as such is treated the same.
It really, really isn't hard to get your head around.
Gareth Thomas should have been red carded though, that was reckless and dangerous.
rennie is a tool and should be banned for this. there are internal processes to go through...
never go to the press to attack an employee of WR
take a cold bath, your team sucks
This is an absolute joke of an article. I reckon the only call Rennie has issue with is the one where Wales knock it down and get 7 points vs Wallabies losing a bloke to the bin for 10! In what universe are these different offences?!?!?!?
To be fair, this knock down law needs to be punted. Give a penalty if it’s deliberate and move on. If the motion is made whilst completing a tackle no sin bin required, rule the fall of the ball and set a scrum/ play advantage….
The fact the TMO isn’t given guidelines (like NRL) as to when, and what they can interject to adjudicate on is why these situations exist. If we still need more hand holding out a second ref in the field. One for the tackle one for the offside line.
For those outside the Euro bubble we’re actually interested in growing the game. This type of technical run is has punters turning off in droves.
Also- the stadium has a roof. Why is it never shut?
The only thing more absurd than the referee is the mental acrobatics pundits like you are making in defense of them. I have never seen a situation where a forward-facing player loses the ball, the ball lands in front of the player and it not be ruled a knock-on. In this case, the TMO and referee ignored decades of precedence and looked for the aerial trajectory of the ball in slow motion, which wasn't even conclusive. So a game deciding try under the posts rewarding a cynical foul and you're fine with that? Mate, watch fans abandon this sport in droves. If you had any integrity or loyalty to the game you would be calling the referee/TMO performance out. I will be ignoring your future commentary.