“Was that a knee on the ground, or a knee brushing the grass?”
My phone rang on Saturday evening and that was the question which came down the line. The caller was, of course, referring to the scrum penalty awarded against England’s Ellis Genge in the dying embers of their semi-final against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup. Just two minutes remained.
The Springboks had looked like a team worn to a frazzle after their win over France. Frantic adjustments to the team were made from the bench as they tried to stay in touch. At 15-6 with 10 minutes to go, they were apparently down and out and the exit door was beckoning. A converted try by RG Snyman gave them renewed hope. Then Freddie Steward made a rare handling error and referee Ben O’Keeffe set the fateful scrum.
England had been under pressure from the bomb squad, and it had to be reset. The ball went in, immediately the scrum crabbed quickly away from its original spot. There was little or no forward movement. It appeared absolutely clear that South African tighthead prop, Vincent Koch, had driven sideways, nearly at a 90 degree angle across the England hooker Jamie George. Koch got help from his flanker, Pieter-Steph du Toit, who slid up the side of the scrum, and was also shoving across. The two South African players were totally illegal.
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But O’Keeffe had answered that crucial question, deciding that Genge’s knee had made enough contact with the ground for him to be penalised. That will be hotly debated. Given the actions of Koch and Du Toit, and the massive importance of the moment, another reset scrum with a warning to everybody involved would have been the equitable outcome. Handré Pollard, ice in his veins for a long time now, was never going to miss.
England’s attitude and controlled aggression really had the ‘Boks in trouble, even if their unattractive modus operandi was to kick the hell out of the ball and starve the backs outside of Owen Farrell of any possession.
O’Keeffe could well have done with referencing a very valuable refereeing philosophy. Never award a kickable penalty, likely to decide the outcome, unless you can hold it up as an indisputable offence. A universal adoption of that approach would save us all a lot of grief. Debatable decisions do nothing but leave a referee deep in the unpleasant stuff.
Let us not forget that Owen Farrell had been marched back 10 metres earlier in the match, making a penalty attempt much easier for Manie Libbok who duly added the three points. The result, of course, was decided by just one.
Nevertheless, England will likely be spitting blood, and they have a case.
Then we have the New Zealand v Argentina mismatch. “I wasn’t happy with the referee, particularly in the first half, especially in the rucks. I think he has his way of doing things.” These were the words of Argentina coach Michael Cheika at the conclusion of the first semi-final, and it’s hard to disagree.
Cheika has mellowed somewhat since his successful days in Leinster, and added, “in over 20 years I’ve realised, like it or not, I can’t change it.” However, with Argentina losing the match by 44-6, and by zero tries to seven, he cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, blame referee Angus Gardner. And, in fairness to Cheika, I don’t think that’s what he was implying.
At the start of the tournament, World Rugby’s go-to referees would have been Wayne Barnes, Jaco Peyper, O’Keeffe and Mathieu Raynal. No other performances in the pool stages dislodged them for their positions and each of them, rightly, was rewarded with a quarter final spot. I fully expected them to be charged with the responsibility of bringing the competition home, without controversy.
However, the injury to Peyper, just 15 minutes into Wales v Argentina, put the kybosh on any such plan and Gardner was moved into the job.
The result of this first semi-final was yet another confirmation of the crazy composition of the pools. This, together with the anonymous bunker, and far too many high scoring, lopsided mis-matches, have (for me anyway) taken the polish off this edition of the World Cup.
What would football’s World Cup look like if it produced a significant batch of results in the six or seven goals to nil category. We rugby men would probably roll our eyes to the heavens and have a good laugh at football’s expense.
The smaller nations really need World Rugby to open their chequebook wide and help them prepare for 2027 - Portugal and Georgia come to mind. The next edition in Australia could become a more competitive World Cup if the likes of Portugal and Georgia get the financial support that they need. Where there’s a will there’s a way. But is there really the will?
