Tri-Nations latest (Fri)
6 Aug 2010
Keo.co.za brings you the latest news from the Tri-Nations.
PdV punishment deferred
A verdict in the misconduct charge against Bok coach Peter de Villiers has been deferred until Monday.
De Villiers was in the dock for comments made on the recent tour to Australasia. The Bok coach suggested the calls didn’t go South Africa’s way in their matches against New Zealand because of the World Cup in that country next year.
‘The judicial officer advised us that he is going to consider his judgment and let us know by the latest beginning of next week,’ Andy Marinos, national team manager, told reporters.
Paddy demands Dwyer apology
IRB referees chief Paddy O’Brien wants Bob Dwyer to apologise for suggesting that he’s biased towards the All Blacks.
Dwyer said O’Brien, who hails from New Zealand, only complains about refereeing performances when the All Blacks are on the wrong end of the stick. O’Brien is now planning to take Dwyer to court over the comment.
Wallabies to clear out ‘cheats’
Rocky Elsom says the only way to stop the All Blacks from slowing down breakdown ball is to clear them out.
Bob Dwyer said during the week that the All Blacks always cheat in this area, and there’s a a large sector of the rugby community that believes referees should be harsher on the Kiwis. Elsom isn’t hoping for any favours from the referee this weekend.
‘It’s definitely an issue for us, just bodies around the ruck,’ he told stuff.co.nz. ‘It slows down our attacking ball and we’re going to have to address that.
‘We’ve got to move those bodies as best we can. Whenever they’re on our side or attacking the ball we’ve got to make sure that space is clear for Willie [halfback Will Genia] to get out and do what he does best.’
Meanwhile, All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw shrugged off cheating jibes and said slowing down the ruck recycle was part of the game.
‘I think players are looking for ways they can have a bigger influence and from our point of view we’re always looking at ways we can put heat on their ball, stop them getting quick ball and making sure we win ours.
‘[The criticism] goes with the territory I suppose. I don’t read too much into it. I think for the most part this year we’ve got things reasonably good and we’ve got the ball we wanted to play with.’

44 Comments
6 Aug 2010, 09:44 am
Call his bluff Bob, let him take you to court.
6 Aug 2010, 09:47 am
Excellent Bob! We are not alone….
6 Aug 2010, 09:47 am
Barbed Wire is prickly.
6 Aug 2010, 09:48 am
Dwyer is correct – and thats not to say the refereeing isn’t hopeless for everyone. Just that you do only ever hear from O’Brien when the All Blacks start complaining.
I had never heard a referee publicly criticised by Paddy until Stu Dickenson supposedly favoured Italy in a test against the All Blacks. Then ofcourse he publicly said that the French threw a forward pass in the NZ WC game in ’07.
I’ve seen plenty of really bad performances lately – especially from Bryce Lawrence – but we never hear a word from Paddy.
Anyway – the refereeing in general needs to improve. On last weeks performance I’d have to say SA refs are now some of the worst.
6 Aug 2010, 09:56 am
Actually – whether he favours kiwis or not is irrelevant. The quality of refereeing is so bad at the moment he should be sacked for his performance.
6 Aug 2010, 10:07 am
one word…
Rucking!
6 Aug 2010, 10:11 am
@Staal(Staal)-6:
And have King McCaw look like a Zebra after the game from all the stud-marks?
Are you crazy?
Mitchell pushed him and got a yellow card…
Danie nudged him with his leg and got a yellow card…
Let’s find a more realistic solution!
6 Aug 2010, 10:15 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7: Rucking Ritchie – lifetime ban!!
Also a personal message from the Prime Minister of New Zealand saying how displeased he is with you.
6 Aug 2010, 10:18 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7: haha, the all blacks are cheats and paddy is a cheat supporter.
the video evidence is all there.
would love to see paddy vs bob in court!
6 Aug 2010, 10:29 am
@Staal(Staal)-6: I am with you on that one.
Lets level the playing field – you trying to slow the ball down, you get some studs for lunch. Then we can see how long all this slowing down ball lasts…
6 Aug 2010, 11:38 am
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7: Yay verily I say unto thee, should thou lay a hand upon Richie, you shall be punished even unto death….
6 Aug 2010, 11:38 am
Last year no one was complaining of the ABs “cheating”. Suddenly it’s the in thing now because all and sundry are being walloped by Henrys men. Get off yah bike and get a life!!!!
6 Aug 2010, 11:40 am
This is turnign intoa fascinating scenario….where players are now openly so sick of the refereeing inconsistencies that they publicly state they will sort it out themselves? Hehe Paddy F**kstick O’Brien and his blinkered hypocrisy is painting himself into a nice corner….
6 Aug 2010, 12:01 pm
I don’t remember the guy who was head ref before Paddy O’Brien, there has been so much controversy since POB has been in charge.
6 Aug 2010, 13:35 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-14: Freddy Michelak of France preceded Paddy as ref honcho at IRB, and he too set tongues wagging. It goes with the job.
6 Aug 2010, 13:39 pm
Oz to take this 1!
6 Aug 2010, 13:41 pm
Paddy is, and always has been, fairly one – eyed. He makes Murray Mexted look like the scales of justice, or Grant Nisbet like ***** on judgement day.
6 Aug 2010, 13:46 pm
the longer you guys look for reasons other then rugby ones, the happier us kiwis get…
old SA players must be turning in their graves…
6 Aug 2010, 13:59 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-18: No Poppa you don’t get it.
The reason we lost is we played terribly. Terrible motivation, terrible conditioning, terrible coaching and tactics.
Don’t confuse that with another aspect of the game which was the refs were awful.
It’s like when us SAFFAs say Div is useless and our brothers say NO, he is great, you don;t like him because he is black. And we think FFS he is black sure. But that has nothing to do with him being the world’s best of worse ref.
Get it.
6 Aug 2010, 14:20 pm
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-19: I’ve tried.
6 Aug 2010, 14:23 pm
Can Div consider himself lucky he is not being sued by the NZ crowd then? by POB’s countrymen..
Now there is a coach NZ love to hate… afterall no other SA coach has beat NZ 3-0 in the professional era!
6 Aug 2010, 14:24 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-18: Actually we were talking about the Aussies wanting to take the law into their own hands…who said anything about why we lost?? I thnk we have reasonably established the various reasons why we lost (selection, positions, tactics etec) but now we’re talking about the refereeing here…..two separate issues
6 Aug 2010, 14:29 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-22: fair enough, but when I complained about the reffing in the saders/bulls match, I was told to get over it..
whenever any of us talk about 07, we’re told to get over it..
please explain to me what the difference is and Ill shut up..
6 Aug 2010, 14:29 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-15: no he didn’t tackler, I know who was the head ref before Paddy O’Brien, but it speaks volumes that there was never any controversy until POB somehow got the job.
6 Aug 2010, 14:31 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-23: I think we should introduce a maximum “whinging period’
6 Aug 2010, 14:33 pm
@Atreides(Atreides)-25: I think we should
6 Aug 2010, 14:55 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7:
dont forget Jamie Heaslip got red carded for apparently almost getting his knee within inches of Richie’s head.
based on these new laws the next person who so much as looks at Richie McCaw funny is going to have a penalty try awarded against them.
6 Aug 2010, 14:56 pm
goyougood – i’m confused, PoB backs nz after the world cup and italy, ok, but how is that the same as him now backing the aussies against nz? Isn’t that the opposite? Or are you guys trying to makes this about sa again?
6 Aug 2010, 15:33 pm
What is load of **** we’ve been this year. Sounds like the dark ages that we had not too long ago. Just when we started earning respect from the rest of the world (for the first time in ages), a **** tri-nations, an efwit coach and team (and that’s being polite) that blames everyone and everything else under the sun bar themselves and himself for the horrible perfomances. And no, I’m not jumping off the PDV bandwagon (gravytrain) beacuse I was never on it!
Smit must be the only level headed person around. He takes full accountability and does not care for d*heads that play the man and not the ball.
6 Aug 2010, 15:36 pm
I’ve had my minute to rant, now I can breathe
6 Aug 2010, 16:32 pm
@Staal(Staal)-6: I suggest you have a close look at the footage beofre joining all the other cry bables on the site, and see exactly what your innocent little friend was doing with McCaws eyes beofre the little .kick. happened. Some of you guys are so pathetic and desperate to see McCaw and the AB’s come un done..and its all due to the fact that you just can’t handle losing to them and the best you can do is sit around like a lot of women in a sewing circle and gossip. Suck it up.
6 Aug 2010, 16:34 pm
@greenHaze(greenHaze_bok)-10: another boo hoo baby eh
6 Aug 2010, 16:36 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-7: ..and another sour grape hanging with the bunch.
6 Aug 2010, 16:38 pm
@boktillzero(boktillzero)-27: ..and another one!!
6 Aug 2010, 16:39 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-9: lots of spur grapes here tonite….
6 Aug 2010, 16:57 pm
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-35: dont get cute with me pal.
anyone with the name fantail makes me queasy just by looking in my direction.
and now….THWOOOP…. i have removed my tongue from my cheek.
have a pleasant evening.
6 Aug 2010, 17:09 pm
@rangerman(rangerman)-36: HUH big tough rangerman and a birds name makes you queasy? no wonder your in the sewing circle
6 Aug 2010, 21:29 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-14:
Probably absolutely nothing to do with seismic law changes at the breakdown X 2; seismic changes in the scrum – partic in last 12mths; S14 refs being picked ‘on merit’; and an awful din coming from the African continent not being allowed to get away with thuggery any more.
All under POBs watch.
Other than that, youre probably right. We only hear about things because its Paddy thats involved. Nothing to do with the biggest changes to its rules, ever, then.
6 Aug 2010, 21:33 pm
I hope Paddy stays. Forever.
I hope Richie remains NZ Captain. Forever.
The more they whinge, the more we’re winning.
JUSTICE4
ever.
6 Aug 2010, 21:42 pm
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-38: there’s certainly an element of that, but Paddy backed and helped implement the law changes and flew with John O’Neill to London to speak in support of them (Sir Ian McGeechan’s speech eventually blowing them out of the water). He also succumbed to the ARU/NZRU’s request for changes to the breakdown last May which led to the sharp rise in kicking we saw last Autumn.
And all that’s before considering how he publicly compromised his neutrality after the Italy match and was forced by the IRB to apologise. He’s not cut out for the job, it’s been one mishap after another and any previous faith in him has been badly eroded.
6 Aug 2010, 22:42 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-40:
“any previous faith”……
nice one, BH.
To say, sir, that your own opinion on POB in this matter has not also been compromised, would be to give compromise a bad name.
6 Aug 2010, 23:00 pm
@Big Hit(Big Hit)-40:
Quite simply the NH snoootery has always left them bereft of any b@lls upon which to make any decisions for the good of the game. Too much up their own @rses to see past their own noses, they have systematically held back all attempts to improve the game on the simple basis that any ideas werent THEIR ideas. The duplicitous Yes But Not but Yes but NO underhand dealings over the ELVs – effectively splitting the World game in 3 separate Rule books between UK and France/Europe and TriN and consigning it to failure before it even started -was a classic case of Engl/UK letting the minions know Who’s Boss, like theyre still sailing Britannia on the high seas. The UK unanimously voted AGAINST the original RWC and have spent the last 20years trying to steal back its commercial opportunities through devious means and foul. The UK hates change. The mentality is all about queueing, maintaining order, letting traffic through. Nice’n'safe. The SAs and Aussies and Kiwis are too basic, noisy and rough for them. A bit too bloshy, innit. They got that RWC up’n'running within 12mths – TWELVE MONTHS – how the fark did they do THAT ?1 even SA helped out, despite knowing they couldnt join the party in 1987. That must have really p*ssed off the tweeds in Dublin and HQ.
And now we have a new rule at the breakdown that seems to have made a really positive change to how the game is played. And there is a very uneasy feeling in UK. They can see it appears to have improved the game. But it wasnt their idea, again.
talk about being ‘compromised’.
7 Aug 2010, 01:58 am
@captain fantail(captain fantail)-34:
wow seems that Richie is a protected species both on and off the field.
those comments are in relation to stuff that really happened on the field and not made up. you have to agree that some of those so called offenses on Richie did not warrant cards
there was a stat a few day ago about how many yellow cards certain players have accumulated etc the stat i want to see is how many of those cards have been dished out for offenses allegedly committed on Richie … so far we have a Red and two yellows this year
so sour grapes on our part ? maybe so
7 Aug 2010, 03:30 am
McCaw is not a protected species. He’s simply the best open-side flanker the world has ever seen since Michael Jones.
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