Boks lament breakdown burglary
9 Oct 2011
The Springboks have suggested that referee Bryce Lawrence’s failure to punish Australia’s infringement at the breakdown cost them heavily.
The defending champions conceded 10 breakdown turnovers, with Wallabies openside flank David Pocock being the chief destroyer of their attacking momentum.
Referee Bryce Lawrence came into the Test having awarded among the lowest number of ruck penalties on average in the tournament, and that trend continued as he allowed a greater contest than has been the norm. The Springboks undoubtedly suffered as a result, but they must look at their inability to protect the ball in contact and on the deck as the primary cause for their struggles (they also committed 10 handling errors).
Still, captain John Smit intimated that they were hard done by at the breakdown. ‘It [the Wallabies' perceived infringement at the breakdown] was the only talking point between he and I,’ Smit said of his on-field interaction with Lawrence. ‘The message clearly wasn’t going through.’
Asked about Pocock’s influence, Smit said: ‘I guess he was brilliant at capitalising on the way the breakdown was being interpreted. When you are brave and keep the ball, normally you are rewarded. That wasn’t the case tonight.’
Head coach Peter de Villiers echoed Smit’s sentiments. ‘Tactically we played correctly but the breakdown was a mess,’ he said. ‘In a quarter-final you have to take your chances and we didn’t take ours. Well done to them. They had a few [opportunities] and they took them. For the rest of the time we were in control. A couple of calls never went our way, but now isn’t the time to talk about the ref.’
However, Australia coach Robbie Deans, whose side has been heavily penalised by Lawrence in the tournament to date, countered that criticism. ‘We didn’t see it as that. Maybe both sides were hard done by, then. The breakdown was hotly contested, and maybe things evened themselves out,’ he said in a veiled reference to their struggles with the New Zealand official.
Asked to assess Pocock’s performance, Deans was emphatic in his response. ‘Immense. Remarkable. It was bigger than he got credit for. It was probably the most dominant performance [by an openside flank] in the tournament.’
Deans described this showing as the ‘coming of age’ of his youthful group, and added: ‘Tonight the most experienced side in the tournament turned the screws on the youngest. I don’t need to equip these boys with the skills to cope with pressure going forward. They showed that they have that capacity tonight.’
By Ryan Vrede, in Wellington.
164 Comments
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10 Oct 2011, 03:57 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-150: Obviously I’m still in this Cup and we have the Blacks this weekend. No one should begrudge the Wallabies this Cup if they beat the Boks and the Blacks in successive weeks (although I’m not expecting as much). Like you, Wales my second team left in it. But I have done a little work for parts of your rugby admin and I can say there are some very good people (with brains) and, at the same time, some very loose, ambitious, jealous and petty people as well. Getting through all that will be hard but, ultimately it will happen. Life and business has a tendency to work that way. Good luck.
10 Oct 2011, 04:04 am
@BillMcConnell(BillMcConnell)-151:
Chur. I’m not really too bothered who wins anymore, but if I’m honest with myself I’d say I want anyone but the All Blacks to win. 4 years of gloating won’t go down well with me.
If Australia win it, I’d be very happy for them. Robbie Deans really is one hell of a coach.
10 Oct 2011, 06:23 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-152:
God have mercy on us all if the AB’s win we will never hear the end of it
10 Oct 2011, 08:15 am
Absolute nonsense …the ref wasa shocker and cost the Boks the game …..I dont mind losing fairly but this was ridiculous. Yes BL ( you twat) blew the breakdown badly but the Boks had nearly 80% possesion which resulted in the Boks losing momentum and not being rewarded appropriately. Watched Nick Mallet interview yesterday ….6 scrums that should have had penalties awarded also did not happen …..all in Aus half of the field. Another huge blunder Pocock was offside when Aus scored their try ….he came from an offside position and hacked the ball out of the ruck . Anyway thats life !!the Boks will be back …..cheers to the old men …..unfortunately a bridge too far . Look forward to a team that looks something like this 15 lambie 14 Aplon 13 Sadie 12 Steyn 11 JP 10 Jantjies 9 Hougaard 8 Alberts 7 Schalk 6 Brussouw 5 Bekker 4 Juan Smith 3 Beast / Steenkamp 2 Bissie 1 Coenie .
BL hope you sleep well ……you were a disgrace to rugby !! Time for the IRB to sort out this out once and for all . The Boks showed showed humility and well done to them ……I wonder what Piet Van Zyl was thinking about this lot ???
10 Oct 2011, 08:23 am
@DT(Duncan)-154:
Australia played to his interpretations much better… FACT.
But it was also Bryce Lawrence job to implement the breakdown laws correctly, and he did a poor job, which swung the game in favor of the Australians, who were able to offset our huge territorial advantage because of it.
I really don’t know what to think, except that Lawrence should retire from test rugby – and Super rugby after what happened with Sharks vs Crusaders.
10 Oct 2011, 08:44 am
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-155:
What possessed Roussow to give away that lineout penalty which cost SA the game. Samo was in the air and he had the mans leg so he had no support when he came down. Had Samo fallen heavily, another ref would have brought out the red card.
Fortunately it was only a penalty, and with 8 minutes on the clock there was still plenty of time for SA to come back, except Aus had their noses in front and that was enough to give them a bit more energy to hold out.
One eyed biased sore losers are accusing the ref of cheating and incompetence but dear me, that penalty was the act of a total knucklehead.
All SA had to do was hold their disipline, but they didn’t have the nous to realise it.
Aus were holding on for dear life and that was all. There was no way in the world they were going to score any other way than from a penalty. They just didn’t have it in them.
10 Oct 2011, 08:52 am
Yeah well guys. It is not the end of the world. We knew this was a 50/50 game and the boks didn’t take their chances in the last 10. A drop goal would have sealed it, but they messed up.
The breakdown reffing was bad, but the boks should have adapted and done the same. They didn’t.
Point is, could have gone either way. We lost… end of story. At least it is against Aus and not Ireland.
10 Oct 2011, 08:58 am
I was proud of the boys either way. They did seem the most powerful team on the field, by far, but they failed to get the points in the end.
I do think it was bad that Steyn was so selfish. With Frans Steyn out he tried to take glory by taking those two kicks that we all know is out of his reach. Lambie should have taking those two (he can’t kick the same distance as Frans, but he can kick further than Morné), and probably would have hit one of them.
But it is the end of an era… now what happens now with the returning boks? Currie Cup?
10 Oct 2011, 12:44 pm
Interpretations aside – BL missed one very important turnover – When Pocock illegally scraped the ball out of our ruck on the Aussie line, we had a massive overlap. That should have been Yellow, instead it was a turnover. Touchies didnt see anything either. Boks can feel hard done by – Lawrence was pathetic, Boks lost more because of him than Aus did.
But, Boks should have put the game away – Steyn missed kicks, Lambie missed a drop, De Villiers threw a foward pass – in all – the Boks easily threw away 16 points.
10 Oct 2011, 15:31 pm
I remember earlier this year when the Cheetahs were playing one of the Australian teams, with Lawrence in charge, Heinrich Brussouw and Robert Ebersohn had a field day at the break-down much the same way as Pocock did on Sunday. I remember thinking then that this guy is clueless to the breakdown laws.
It is clear to me that the Australians were more aware of this than the Boks were and sent Vickerman in to do a “Bakkies” on Brussouw. It worked for them and we were the ones left with eggs on our faces.
I do not think that Lawrence was biased. He doesn’t come across in the same way as Dickerson, Walsh, Rolland, Clancy, Honiss and O’Brien do. He is just clueless to the breakdown laws. The Australians, as per their convict DNA, are smarter buggers than us. And we end up looking like a bunch of dumb japies again.
10 Oct 2011, 15:37 pm
@YoMama(YoMama)-160: We are honest rugby players! lol
10 Oct 2011, 20:32 pm
@hendrikp(hendrikp)-155: I wish the IRB could read AND understand(get) this post.He was shown in that Crusaders/Sharks game to be useless.
10 Oct 2011, 20:47 pm
Thanks Jake ….tired of all the ” trying to be nice stuff” ……we got stuffed by BL and you put it perfectly . About time that coaches stood up and could voice an opinion. John Smit and Pdiv are being so nice ……to hell with that they should have a full go and make a statement. The Boks seem to always get the short end of the stick …..who knows maybe we like it !!!
Where was Piet Van Zyl when we needed him !!!!!!!!!
10 Oct 2011, 21:02 pm
@DT(Duncan)-154: Excellent post I like your team.except No 4??Juan Smith.(or am I reading it wrong?)Gerhard Morkel in there
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