Walsh should have been sacked
6 Mar 2013
MARK KEOHANE writes Steve Walsh should have been given the chop, even if just for a few games, for charging into Conrad Smith.
If a player had lost his cool, as Walsh did, and made contact with a referee he would have been fronting a disciplinary and all sorts of condemnation would accompany the appearance.
Walsh is again becoming a law unto himself and his ego is again getting the better of him.
The Australian-based Kiwi, who in Justin Marshall’s autobiography, admitted a rugby field wasn’t big enough to accommodate the egos of Marshall and himself and further made the admission that he couldn’t stand the sight of Marshall’s face and would penalise the Crusaders just because Marshall irritated him, has a controversial history with the whistle.
He was sacked previously because of his battle with booze and he returned to the game humbled and rejuvenated.
His performance in the Canes game was more of the old Walsh. His communication skills were lacking, he was larger than the players, he was No 1 and he was very anti the Canes in his approach.
The contact with Smith, when the Canes skipper queried a penalty, warranted sanction. It looked ugly and it looked malicious. Walsh was angry and lost the plot.
Smith has shown his class is being diplomatic and brushing off the incident, but Walsh erred in making the wrong call on a few occasions in a frantic final five minutes and it had a bearing on the outcome of the match.
Referee boss Lyndon Bray concedes Walsh got it wrong and Smith was right to query Walsh, and he further concedes Walsh’s performance wasn’t up to standard in the final few minutes. But, despite this, he told the Fairfax Media reporters the overall review assessment for Walsh was 93 percent and that the official reviewers were happy with the job done.
It is nothing short of disgraceful.
The Hurricanes lodged an official complaint and Bray said he and Canes coach Mark Hammett had agreed to disagree.
Bray said Walsh had made ‘two or three’ incorrect calls against the Hurricanes but defended Walsh’s overall performance.
‘Mark feels Steve didn’t have a very good day. My argument to that was I don’t think it was too bad, but I absolutely support that at a critical part of the game we got a couple wrong,’ said Bray.
Given this Walsh should have been stood down, even if just for a match or two.
‘I can understand that frustration, but across the game I don’t think there’s much argument other than Steve had a pretty good day generally. What Mark talked about really came down to a small number of decisions in the second half which really had an impact on the Hurricanes. Fair cop.
‘I think Steve would agree with Mark he had two or three calls in the last quarter that weren’t as accurate as he’d like, including the penalty on the goal line which resulted in the back chat. So that all got a bit ugly because we agree the decision was wrong.’
Bray further defended Walsh’s clash with Smith as accidental and not malicious. You decide.
‘He was [caught in the moment]. He was in decision-making mode. It’s just one of those things,’ said Bray. “One of Steve’s strengths is that he’s a strong character on the field and I think that’s pretty important for a referee. On Friday night both the players and the referee got a little frustrated.
‘He had a couple of errors build up and they went against the Hurricanes at key moments and that’s where you can understand Mark’s frustrations.’
Walsh’s reward for getting it wrong in the crucial time of the game was to fly to London to referee a Six Nations international this weekend and he will resume business in Super Rugby on his return.
Referee accountability is an area that continues to be glossed over in all competitions. The standard of refereeing in the early part of the competition has been inconsistent, the application of the five second use it law at ruck time has been so subjectively applied, depending on the referee, that it is a farce and certain referees allow teams to slow the ball down with repeated calls of ‘release release’ by which time the damage has been done to the attacking side.
Referee interpretation still influences too much of the play, as does the time of the match when the offending team transgressors. Teams commit professional fouls on their goalline in the first 20 minutes and never face a yellow card, but the same transgression is always punished with a yellow or red card if occurring in the last five or 10 minutes of a match.
Referees, like players, are paid professionals. They need to be held accountable when getting it wrong and there needs to be more sanction and scrutiny on those who allow the play to be slowed down by repeated cautions but rarely with consequence. Referees will tell you they caution to get flow but if they penalised immediately and set a standard that slowing down the ball won’t be tolerated they’d then get the flow in a game.
Generally there is too much back slapping within the referee fraternity and while it is a thankless task to be a referee let’s not forget these guys chose it as a profession, and if they want to be treated like professionals they must equally be judged as professionals.
Walsh betrayed the professionalism of an international referee in the way he lost it with Smith and lost it with the Canes. There had to be a consequence to that poor form. Instead there is only reward. It is why nothing will change.
294 Comments
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6 Mar 2013, 17:26 pm
@Finfan-235: Pat Lam messed up at the Blues, Mitchell maybe?
@gunther-248: Springs Tegnies, se 5e span
6 Mar 2013, 17:28 pm
@grant10-247: Not too bad man. Don’t think you should get too down on your Stormers, whilst they have a good pack their forwards lack dynamism in the carry which doesn’t give the backline much in the way of quick ball to attack from. Jantjes is an attacking 10 but can only work with he’s provided. Truth be told, Willem De Waal is a better fit for their style.
6 Mar 2013, 17:29 pm
@nama1-242: Yes VM will surely be the darling lost sone of Loftus, the chosen one and Slaptjips will be without a contract…but is Slaptjips really headcoach material?
6 Mar 2013, 17:29 pm
@Big Hit-252:
Ouch.
A knife to the Stormer heart.
6 Mar 2013, 17:39 pm
Eng 35
Afr 40
Port 6
Greek 6
Italiano 6
Jew 4
Other 3
Total 100
6 Mar 2013, 17:40 pm
Eng 35
Afr 40
Port 6
Greek 6
Italiano 6
Jew 4
Other 3
Total 100
Guys – please adjust these figures to be more closer to reality
6 Mar 2013, 17:45 pm
@Big Hit-252: Willem Wikkelspies ??? Fark me B H ……no man……
6 Mar 2013, 17:47 pm
@Sharks_are_gonna_get_you-250:
He will need to speak Afrikaans, read Huisgenoot, listen to Kort Derm and have Steve’s Bloubul lied as ringtone
Hard for a Kiwi to qualify
Mitchell thought team shower sessions and washing each others backs would suffice for teambuilding at the Lions, but he was sadly mistaken
6 Mar 2013, 17:50 pm
Mallet…..
For Stormers…..
make my farken day !
6 Mar 2013, 17:52 pm
@Sheriff-256:
More like:
Afrikaner – 61
Anglo-African – 34
Jewish – 2
Portuguese – 2
Greek – 1
6 Mar 2013, 18:02 pm
I can’t abide Steve Walsh but that looked like a mistake to me. He turned and ran and the player was there. Natural to put your hands up like that – anyone would do it. There was no aggression in it.
6 Mar 2013, 18:03 pm
@grant10-259: Now you guys are calling for a new coach again ? After the Currie Cup final, Alistair Coetzee was acclaimed by Stormers supporters far and wide to be the absolute best coach in South Africa.
What is it to be ?
6 Mar 2013, 18:05 pm
@grant10-257: Geez Gwanty…I cant believe it only took you 4 days this time to recover from the Stormers losing for the 8th time in the last 11 games against the Sharks. After the semi-final last year, you disappeared for a couple of months. Did you need therapy ?
6 Mar 2013, 18:24 pm
@WP-Forever-260:
So what you’re saying is that there are a lot more Afrikaners than my perception, interesting …
Your estimate only differs by 1 for sout en asyn
And you reduced the Medit peoples considerable
Your gut feel on my 80% estimate?
6 Mar 2013, 18:42 pm
@Tacitus-183:
Yes they produce big athletes but they are not smart rugby players.
Thus to my mind their strength is also their weakness; rugby is a game where skills are vital
Mindset of too many of these players is that they are in Jan Wilkens’ arena; coach has the same mindset and that is why our rugby will stagnate with him there
6 Mar 2013, 19:38 pm
@WP-Forever-260: mhlekazi, khawundichazele bendicingaka ukuba kunzima ukufumana impepha ezigunyazisa ukuba mompu, yenzeka njani into yokuba kusapho olunye abantu abathandathu babenempepha zokuphatha imipu engamashumi amahlanu anesithandathu?
kwenziwantoni ngezixhobo ezingaka?
6 Mar 2013, 20:09 pm
Botha quits after positive test
Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:27
PrevNextThe name of the substance is unknown
Former Baby Bok and University of Pretoria captain Zane Botha has quit rugby after testing positive for a banned substance.
This website can reveal, exclusively, that Botha is the Tukkie who has had social media network Twitter abuzz with rumours of a player that tested positive.
However, in contrast to the Twitter-based hype, Botha has quit rugby and has not been involved with the club at all this year.
This website can reveal that Botha had himself tested in January and when the result returned positive, he informed officials that he was quitting the game.
He has not featured in any of their games this year and is not currently a member of the club.
The name of the substance is unknown and it is not clear at this stage if Botha will ever return to the game.
Botha, who captained Tuks to their first Varsity Cup title last year, was born in Bloemfontein and schooled at Grey College.
He moved to the Blue Bulls after school and has represented the Bulls at age-group level and in the Vodacom Cup.
He represented South Africa Under-20 at the 2009 IRB World Junior Championship.
6 Mar 2013, 20:17 pm
@grant10-267: test ALL those bulls kids!!
6 Mar 2013, 21:06 pm
RT @sportproducer Ref Steve Walsh still winning friends & influencing people. And he’s headed our way
http://t.co/B6jQMAQo6B #rterugby
6 Mar 2013, 22:19 pm
@Transformation-268:
And test their fans as well.
6 Mar 2013, 23:39 pm
@Hurricane-269: For extra chromosomes.
6 Mar 2013, 23:58 pm
According to all saffas all refs who ref games that end in their teams demise should be sacked. Its just they have got used to their own hometown refs incompetence to be unbiased that they see this as gold standard.
No ref should just be fired because they reffed a saffa team which lost.
KEO – are you trying to get this article up and running. Walsh and Smmith have come out and said this was an accident.
7 Mar 2013, 00:46 am
@wallabie.-271:
Yep nothing in it really.
Hurricanes need to man up and start holding the ball really.
Welsh did some weird calls but thats rugby. We will never get a perfectly refed game….. one team will say the ref was good and the other will say he was poor. Actually it is normally the fans and not the teams but if he got around 90% of his calls correct, like his boss suggested,then that is good enough i think.
7 Mar 2013, 00:46 am
@stormer in a teacup-270:
7 Mar 2013, 00:59 am
standard fare Wallabie
it feeds the “truthers” on this blog and maintains the conspiracy angle
you just don’t beat saffa sides
it’s either the ref, travel disadvantage, IRB conspiracy etc etc
7 Mar 2013, 08:33 am
Walshy may be buying his booze in Aussie now but this just adds to the perception that a kiwi can get away with anything on a rugby field.
Can any of the kiwis here tell us whether Hamish Rutherford is Ken’s son?
7 Mar 2013, 08:53 am
@gunther-276:
Yep, he is Ken’s son.
Some wag tweeted on cricinfo that Ken took 4 tests to score 12 runs, Hamish took 12 balls.
7 Mar 2013, 08:56 am
@gunther-276:
I like the qualifier you have used”perception”
7 Mar 2013, 09:04 am
Steve Walsh player 23 for the Bulls in that 2007 final. There’s gotta be better refs out there.
7 Mar 2013, 09:23 am
@Brads-277:
He was a great captain Kenny.
Wonderful sense of humour.
7 Mar 2013, 09:38 am
@gunther-280:
I don’t really agree he was a great captain, but he was a down to earth, man in the street type, a complete contrast to Martin Crowe who he never got on with.
7 Mar 2013, 09:53 am
@Brads-281:
Amazing how man father son combos there are in kiwi cricket.
You don’t have any little Hadllees running around there do you?
7 Mar 2013, 09:53 am
@wp_boytjie-279:
Give it a break.
Unless you can prove otherwise, all ref mistakes should be treated as mistakes, some may even be the result of ineptitude.
These guys make decisions on what they see in front of them, not what is on television from umpteen different angles. Additionally a small number of ref’s just freeze and lose the plot and stop making decisions until something blatant happens in front of them.
These never ending accusations that every refs mistake is proof of bias or evidence of corruption is ridiculous.
7 Mar 2013, 10:02 am
@gunther-282:
Possibly, but not from Richard’s loins as far as I know.
His wife Karen left him with no kids after he retired from cricket at age 40 to live with her **** girlfriend.
Richard is a anal sort of guy (not in the sexual connotation) so I suspect he never found the time to start a family
7 Mar 2013, 10:07 am
@Brads-283: welcome to the site, you’ll find this is defense number one when a Saffa side lose..
enjoy your time here
7 Mar 2013, 10:10 am
Haha, close the laager, exorcise poltergeist NAMA, and all is right with the world.. The birds are singing, white might is restored to its impeccable perch. No matter how many family murders by whites, stats show it is not as bad as those black basterterds… mmmm breath the deep fresh air of bullying and brainwashing the truth itself. Collective consciousness bliss, the sobering thought vanquished into obscurity by intellectual obfuscation.
And yet, if all races were removed except whiteness, what would the picture of family murder be? Would you be satisfied that patriarchal dominance is a real problem in Afrikaner culture especially?
Dont mistake a strong willed auntie or ma as being proof against the premise (as celebrated lefty author Max Du Preez does, for e.g.). Oh no, it is in the face of such entrenchment that men crumble and, not being able to hold up the delusional manly mantle, crack, and as a last act of desperate assertion pull the trigger on infant and wife.
7 Mar 2013, 10:14 am
@the curse-285:
Don’t worry about explaining the ropes to me, I have been here for a few years – off and on.
But thanks for the welcome, much appreciated.
7 Mar 2013, 10:29 am
@rugby911-286: chill dude. Nama is our favorite bushman
7 Mar 2013, 11:42 am
I know Brads
I was being facetious.
7 Mar 2013, 12:26 pm
@wallabie.-272: Notice how Sir Graeme Henry has also said via Twitter what a rubbish ref Walsh is
7 Mar 2013, 13:45 pm
@JL1-290: Sir Graeme Henry.
What a joke.
7 Mar 2013, 15:01 pm
@willievz-291: Williie, is nogal snaaks, maar jy weet mos wat ‘n Sir is, of hoe?
7 Mar 2013, 15:03 pm
@JL1-292: Nee, vertel maar?
8 Mar 2013, 12:30 pm
Strangley enough Walsh is by far away their (Kiwis) best ref; which is not saying much, I grant you. In truth I think he became really good when he came back – but like most of them he’s in Paddy’s pocket – and, if you’r not, you won’t get the big matches and your reffing career will tank. Everybody knows that.
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