I KNOW northern and southern hemisphere rugby is played to different laws, but I never knew that the northern and southern discrepancy applied to South African rugby.
Mark Keohane – Business Day
The Bulls are the Super 14 champions for a second successive year. Congratulations, well done and whatever other politically correct thing one says after such victories.
The kind words are not extended to South African referee Craig Joubert, who should hand back his winning mug because on the evidence of his officiating at the breakdown he was the mug at the Orlando Stadium.
Why was the world’s best referee, Jonathan Kaplan, in charge of Paarl Gym’s 34-32 win against Bishops in Paarl on Saturday when he should have been refereeing as the best played the best in Soweto?
Stormers captain Schalk Burger was diplomatic in applauding the champion Bulls, but it doesn’t get more crass at a televised politically correct post-match interview when a captain says the two teams played to two different sets of rules at the breakdown. It was an up-yours to Joubert, and rightly so.
The result stands. The Bulls are champions. Up north they will tell you deservedly so. Down south the word will be frustratingly so.
I’d love to see these two teams play a game under the same set of rules before deciding who is better. I’d picked the Stormers to win by 10 but then I did anticipate a game where the attacker is given a moment to place the ball and the defender has to allow for that moment before smothering the ball.
Perhaps it was that the Stormers wore white and the paleness of the colour meant Joubert could never see anything but a blue hand, be it placing the ball or playing it. Joubert was awful and I know he is better than what he delivered in Soweto.
The breakdown contest was the one we all wanted to see, but it never happened and it was crucial to the outcome. This was an occasion to celebrate South African rugby’s dominance. The best teams in the tournament, a multi cultural occasion in Soweto, even if the crowd was mostly white, and a country unified in their belief that SA tops rugby’s world order.
And then we get the second- best to play conductor.
I challenge Joubert and those who appointed him to take me (and Schalk, if he wants to be there) through the tape at the South African Rugby Union’s offices and explain the breakdown interpretation, and what it means to place the ball and to smother it and infringe.
If I am the idiot in getting it wrong, I’ll front to it, but I know it won’t be necessary and I also know Joubert won’t do it because it would embarrass him — and it won’t change the result.
Referee and touch judge cock-ups never meet with consequences in a game that is called professional.
Take Ricky Januarie’s last score. He was short, but Joubert awarded it. Again the emotion of the moment got the better of him. Things also went against the Bulls, but it was no coincidence that they did so 76 minutes into the game. What Joubert penalised the Bulls for in those last four minutes he excused in the first 76 minutes.
The touch judge decision to penalise Andries Bekker’s stupidity at a cleanout that in no way infringed a Bulls player or the flow of play was probably the biggest decision in the game. Joubert saw it and rightly let play continue.
Why did he not overrule the touch judge on what he had seen? What was a Stormers penalty and a possible 19-13 scoreline with nine minutes to play, translated into a Bulls penalty, a 50m gain and a 22-10 Bulls lead a minute later.
Frustration at being robbed of a breakdown contest aside, the Bulls are a quality side and they played to the referee’s vulnerability. Credit to them and their leadership. Their senior players also targeted certain Stormers players. Credit again to them. This is a contact sport and when Bekker left the field after five minutes to clean the blood from his mouth the Bulls had made a point: Victor Matfield was still king; Bekker the pretender to his throne.
I didn’t see too many Bulls players bleed and for that you can’t point fingers at the referee. A statement of intent, legal or illegal, had to be made to the Bulls if the underdog Stormers were to win. That meant Matfield and Fourie du Preez being singled out. It didn’t happen and Matfield stood taller than Bekker and Du Preez stood tallest of all. There has been no better lock and scrumhalf in professional rugby, and there have been some good ones.
Du Preez is the best rugby player in the world and Matfield is a close second. Of that there can be no doubt and Morné Steyn is easily the most consistent flyhalf. With Du Preez and Steyn’s aerial kicking game dictating field position, it takes a monumental effort, every bounce of the ball and a referee who consistently applies the breakdown law for any opposition to make a game of it.
The Stormers were good but not monumental, the bounce of the ball was not there, the Bulls were that good and I’ve already wasted too many trees in column inches on Joubert and the breakdown.
As I said earlier, the result stands. The Bulls are Super 14 champions for a second successive time and South African rugby is ultimately the biggest victor.
elcamino
ROOILEEU
Tina
logan
Deon
Thomas_Bulls
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Aldo
Methos The French Stormer
KingPaul
JT_BOKBEFOK!
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RUGGA_MIND
Pokkel
Quinn25
namboer
Marcel
Jacques(Bunny)Somtimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits
moose
Vernonimous
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Watte
niekie
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Blokkies
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Morné
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Ollie
Koos
May 31st, 2010 at 11:11 am
Ahhh Voldy…
May 31st, 2010 at 11:12 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 11:11 am:
Hehe
May 31st, 2010 at 11:15 am
Ag shame ja, maybe Bobby Skinstadt can be the ref with Rassie and Allister running the lines.
Bakkies gets 4 weeks for irresponsibly entering the ruck while Andries gets away with just a penalty. The fact that Bekker had no impact in the process is because he’s a big clumsy girl… the intent was there though and that’s what counts.
Stepping through the tapes in slow motion may be a good idea. Use the opportunity to see how:
1. The Stormers were outscrummed
2. …beaten in the lineout
3. …outmuscled in the loose
4. …not as good defensively as they tried to make us believe in the run up
5. Bulls tactical kicking by FAR superior to that of the Stormers
…and so on.
So the ref had a shocker with bad decisions in both directions. Schalk showed his character by his behaviour in the post match chat. A true leader would have risen above the situation and known that emotions were to colour his statements. He had nothing to gain but to vent his anger.
Keo on the other hand had time to think about it…
May 31st, 2010 at 11:24 am
rassie just lastr week said how its the wp prerss who gives wp players a bad rep as they always blow things the way they want, as opposed to the way things are.
How can you like wp rugby if they always have bloody whinge when things dont gell? Why is Keo not writing about Stormers shortcomings, which include a backline with no plan or structure at all?
Or a back 3 with the combines height of a lock and the combines weight of a prop? At loftus this Bulls team would have given this stormers team 30 points.
May 31st, 2010 at 11:26 am
Reply to ed @ 11:15 am:
Hehe… it’s not like he (and the touchie) missed a blatant ‘playing the ball on the ground’ like in 2007
Bulls were well prepared for the Stormer’s in every way…
May 31st, 2010 at 11:44 am
Reply to entropy @ 11:24 am:
Damn right. I don’t know who came up with the (lack of) backline plays, but they were playing stupid rugby. There “plan” made Olivier look like the best 12 in the business. ( he is still growing to that IMO). How can you pass every pass behind your 12′s back to a player running in? Jacque Fourie can run brilliant lines, but the key has always been the 12 committing defenders on his inside. Quite impossible for him to do if the 12 doesn’t even get the ball first.
I can understand a team using the tactic after they gave the ball to the 12 and he crashed it up a few times and asked questions of the defense, but doing from the word go is like predicting the sun will rise tomorrow. Made it easy for Olivier to just drift and thus Fourie had to deal with Olivier and Pretorius.
Joubert didn’t have a brilliant game, but damnit, the Stormers didn’t want this game.
To me it seemed they just threw the ball around hoping for the gaps to open up, instead of creating them. The only time they actually asked questions of the Bulls backline were when the forwards were in the backline after a failed skip-the-12 movement.
Then why the hell change what has been working for 14 weeks? yes it is a final but damnit last week was just as important.
I was also a bit upset with the refereeing during the game, but in the end they needed to play the ref. Babies in the big league it seems.
May 31st, 2010 at 11:44 am
LOL @ Bryce: are you referring to Pedrie skilfully “placing” the ball? That’s a long time ago but I remember it being marginal at best
Stormers got pipped. They need to get over and keep moving if they want to win it next year. If you start whinging and manufacturing excuses for losing you end up building a choking culture, just look a the Sharks and All Blacks. :O
May 31st, 2010 at 11:49 am
Hehehe – When will Keo and Schalk and all the Stormers supporters realise that it takes 80 minutes of playing committed FINAL focused rugby and not 3 months of k@k praat to win a Super 14 final?
Lekka My Bulls!!!
May 31st, 2010 at 11:50 am
Reply to ed @ 11:44 am:
No KC, they didn’t get pipped, they showed ZERO initiative and got
May 31st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
HEHEHE,
shame ou schalkie,
if your score was more boet,
you wouldn’t be blaming the ref.
Typical Kaypie,
nagg nagg.
May 31st, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Hey Ed
suck my piles boet,
Sharks don’t winge.
Its a kaypie trait.
May 31st, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Reply to ed @ 11:44 am: Bakkies gets 4 weeks for irresponsibly entering the ruck while Andries gets away with just a penalty. The fact that Bekker had no impact in the process is because he’s a big clumsy girl… the intent was there though and that’s what counts.
Bakkies went to took off Aplons head, if you open your eyes you would see that the only contact Andries had was with his own players he did not even touch a bull player.
But then again to exsplain something to certain people on this blog is harder than to teach my brothers two year old to drive a car
May 31st, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Reply to ed @ 11:44 am:
…beaten in the lineout
Go look again Andries stole more balls from the Bulls than Victor’s men
May 31st, 2010 at 3:59 pm
jirre but the Capey media makes us fans look bad
Stormers were the 2nd best team in the comp!
Bulls are the best in the world – at any level (quote by Stuart Barnes on Skysports!)
May 31st, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Reply to JT @ 3:59 pm: Goy no problem being second best because this bulls side is brilliant but people must not start making out that WP players are kak because they lost and underachieve against this bulls side. They were clearly the second best team in the whole S14 and give them the credit they deserve the same way that everyone should give the Bulls the credit for being the brilliant team they are.
The ref was kak yes we all saw it but even with a good ref the bulls on saturday would have beaten any team, they are just that a good a team.
Happy to give the Bulls the credit but stop finding fault in anything a Stormers supporter or player has to say.
Stormers have a good future and even the great Heineke Meyer can see.
May 31st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
All of New Zeeland was behind the Stormers so Schalk and Keo are showing gratitude by acting like kiwis
May 31st, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Reply to fyndraai @ 4:34 pm: If I was NZ I would have been behide the Stormers as well they are not taking it lekker that the Bulls Fu.. up there premiere side the Saders two times in one year.
May 31st, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Reply to Jacques(Bunny) @ 4:07 pm:
If all WP fans were like you I’d support them ……… more…
May 31st, 2010 at 8:23 pm
If I am the idiot in getting it wrong, I’ll front to it, but I know it won’t be necessary and I also know Joubert won’t do it because it would embarrass him — and it won’t change the result.
I have been with SA Referees
I saw the analysis equipment they use.
I would actually like it if Ande Watson took this arrogany little prick into his office… showed him how little he knows and then let me come in and smack his short little skull off his little body… maybe once he’s pissed himself he won’t think with his balls anymore…. but with what he has in his skull…
Keohane you’re a moron
May 31st, 2010 at 8:25 pm
But the fact is Mark Keohane that you will NEVER EVER EVER admit you are wrong
Trait of your race
May 31st, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Reply to DavidS @ 8:25 pm:
What race is that?
May 31st, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Reply to DavidS @ 8:25 pm: I agree Fully with you
May 31st, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Reply to Ollie @ 9:25 pm:
Methinks it’s Oirish,
or Oirish-American as
far as I can gather
from Google.
June 1st, 2010 at 1:31 am
I gather you guys really don’t like Keo. Whatever faults the guy has, I didn’t think his article was that far off the mark. Obviously his remarks are not made to appeal to Bulls fans and why should he have to play to them? He is simply stating what was obvious to many others – Joubert like Jonker before him are capable referees but seem to be unable to handle the crowd and player pressure. On the latter, FdP needs to pull his head in and stop trying to ref the game. George Gregan would have been proud of Fourie duP’s arm waving and running at the ref on Saturday and a more confident ref like Kaplan would have asked him if he was the captain and then sent him on his way.
Fair question by Keo, why was J. Kaplan reffing a damn schools game? If he is the best ref on the SANZAR panel, didn’t we deserve him at the S14 final? The title of the article should by the way have been “S14 supporters cheated out of fair contest” as there have been too many games this year with weird appointments and where the match officials have screwed up.
June 1st, 2010 at 3:32 am
It’s a little pathetic to complain about the referee when your team has been comprehensively outplayed like that.
Much like the Waratahs last week.
But the genie is out of the bottle. When the referee panel started to publicly rebuke some referees, coaches and captains just jumped on the bandwagon.
I hope they come down hard on Sulk Burger. This BS must stop.
June 1st, 2010 at 5:57 am
Reply to fyndraai @ 3:32 am: You have a point, we don’t want every losing team’s supporters, captain and coach blaming the ref when their team loses, it will all become too predictable. BUT referees must be held accountable,as players and coaches are. They are professionals being paid big bucks and if they screw up they must be held accountable as
June 1st, 2010 at 8:19 am
Reply to Jacques(Bunny) @ 4:07 pm:
Stormer’s were the second best team in the comp… but the Shark’s also handed them their arses on a platter…
June 1st, 2010 at 8:23 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 8:19 am:
and your point is???
Blues beat the Bulls – does that make them the best?
June 1st, 2010 at 8:27 am
Reply to JT @ 8:23 am:
Not a RSA side…
When the Super rugby model changes next year… I will not be suprised to see RSA follow Aus and use the opening rounds as their national indicator too and not the lowly CC…
June 1st, 2010 at 9:23 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 8:19 am: By then the Stormers had one eye on the Bulls already.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:29 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 8:27 am:
and your point is?? The Cheetahs beat the Sharks so the Cheetahs must be better than the Stormers!?
June 1st, 2010 at 10:01 am
Reply to manvanstaal @ 9:23 am:
No wonder they were so dominated… it’s difficult to play with your only eye on the next opposition…
Reply to JT @ 9:29 am:
Maybe you’ll get the point by the time the Stormer’s can actually beat the Shark’s in a Super-rugby game… you should have plenty of time…
June 1st, 2010 at 10:03 am
Reply to bryce_in_oz @ 10:01 am:
the sharks should worry about not missing out to the Kings in 2013