The Springboks vs British & Irish Lions 2nd Test Thread

[Slick]

He's not hysterically blaming the ref for our loss. He's simply talks us through several incidents and gives us his thoughts. I knew the ref was bad, but I didn't know he was that bad.

If he was doing it to genuinely critique the refereeing, he'd question decisions given in both directions (and there were plenty). He doesn't. So to pretend it's some kind of genuine effort to address refereeing concerns is at best disingenuous, more likely bullshit.

Time for the refs to call a strike (an hour before kickoff) until World Rugby slap a ban on coaches doing this shit.

They would get my support

[Sandstorm]

+1

[Raggs]

I'd back it too.

[JM2K6]

Yeah, masterful trolling of an individual in order to try and win a game of rugby. Completely undermining a referee and potentially ruining his career to try and win a game of rugby.

Maybe it’s an old fashioned point of view but it’s miles from why I fell in love with rugby. It’s a shite state of affairs and anyone with an interest in the game should be condemning it.

If it was Gatland or Townsend or anyone else I’d still be angry about it, and you should be too.

I’m not a massive fan of shitposting either, but if anything it’s sparked some interest in the tour.

A week ago it was all about what a farce te tour has been, massive waste of time etc. Now everybody is talking about this weekend’s match and Rassie has managed to fire up the South African fans, the Lions fans, and the media, while keeping the spotlight off of Nienaber and the Boks allowing them to regroup and focus and also not really giving Gatland any soundbites he can use to fire up the Lions.

It certainly has not made it any less farcical.

[Chilli]

I agree, I'm sure Gatland could do the same. Boks weren't angels.

I applaud Rassie for raising these issues, but for the sake of our game I don't think it should be done in the public domain like this.

While I’m not a fan of it, what do you think the narrative would be leading into the test if Rassie wasn’t baiting all the rugby media in the world with his antics?

Questions tactics, questioning selections, dumping on Nienaber as being out of his depth, blah blah blah.

Pretty sure he is just taking the piss in an effort to keep the team isolated from the media and focused on staying in the series.

Masterful trolling and everybody is eating it up.

But he’s set a shitty narrative that just makes him look like a dick.

If he’d concentrated on one thing, the attitude of the ref to Kolisi, he would have had loads of support, it’d still set the agenda for the week and would pile pressure on the ref while making him look like the good guy.

This is exactly the point. He should have left it there, The Ref is very dismissive of Kolisi and it is clear that he listens to, and is influenced AWJ. Had Rassie of just left it there, or maybe spent 5 minutes on the player safety aspect and 5 minutes having a whinge about the other stuff this could have been a superb video.

However the whinge just carries on and does become petty.

If Rassie has brought this mentality to the Bok camp during the week, the Lions will smash them by 40 points.

[Chilli]

Completely undermining a referee and potentially ruining his career to try and win a game of rugby....
If it was Gatland

It was Gatland...just a week ago.

True

[Chilli]

You don't think an hour long video pointing out dozens of ways that the lions didn't deserve to win, because the ref was favouring them so much, isn't something he can use?

Going after the referee is less useful to Gatland than Rassie going after one of the Lions players. The rugby "journalists" are always trying to get the coaches or players to say something about the opposition players.

If they started asking Rassie and Jacques about "how are you going to nullify Itoje?" or "you didn't get the same dominance in the scrum, what are you going to do in the second test?", even the most diplomatic answer would be twisted into a soundbite to galvanise the Lions even more.

It's not the type of gamesmanship I enjoy personally, but it's just some gamesmanship nonetheless IMO.

Somehow I can't see all these outraged Lions fans, players and pudits that are clutching pearls now complaining in the same way if Lions lose the second test with a couple of marginal calls and Gatland has a big moan after the fact.

If Gatland has a moan in the press interview after, or in other media interviews, I'll be a bit upset.

If he goes and makes an hour long edited video pointing out things as banal as slightly not straight lineouts, I'd hope he'll never be associated with the Lions again.

The point is that it is more than just missing a straight lineout........................it is all the other factors including missing the throw in.

[assfly]

I don't think it's a total attack on the referee, rather the match officials.

If they're shit, they should be held accountable. Perhaps not like this though.

[Sards]

Darren is pranking Gatland on 94.5 KFM in a few minutes

[handyman]

My opinion - I'm not a fan of fighting this battle in the media. It's just slinging mud back and forth. What I will say is that when I watched all the clips, there are a lot of very basic errors made by Berry and the AR's. I'm talking schoolboy errors. Some of which are very difficult to explain.

[Sards]

Darren is pranking Gatland on 94.5 KFM in a few minutes

Give credit to Gatland......

[Kawazaki]

My opinion - I'm not a fan of fighting this battle in the media. It's just slinging mud back and forth. What I will say is that when I watched all the clips, there are a lot of very basic errors made by Berry and the AR's. I'm talking schoolboy errors. Some of which are very difficult to explain. And

If you're trying to imply that the referee, ARs and the TMO are bent then say it. Own that opinion. That's what Erasmus wants you to think but he's too chicken shit to say it.

[Margin__Walker]

My opinion - I'm not a fan of fighting this battle in the media. It's just slinging mud back and forth. What I will say is that when I watched all the clips, there are a lot of very basic errors made by Berry and the AR's. I'm talking schoolboy errors. Some of which are very difficult to explain.

Again though, you could do this with any game (and any ref). It's not unique. There will be countless examples of Bok infringements missed in the game that we're not talking about because Gatland didn't put a helpful video together and release it to the world.

If Rassie was so interested in tackling ref inconsistencies, he could have highlighted some examples where SA benefitted.

[handyman]

My opinion - I'm not a fan of fighting this battle in the media. It's just slinging mud back and forth. What I will say is that when I watched all the clips, there are a lot of very basic errors made by Berry and the AR's. I'm talking schoolboy errors. Some of which are very difficult to explain. And

If you're trying to imply that the referee, ARs and the TMO are bent then say it. Own that opinion. That's what Erasmus wants you to think but he's too chicken shit to say it.

I can't believe that, not at this level. Which leaves incompetent.

[average joe]

Who are you guys kidding? It's a Lions tour, this is all just sideshows. Gatland is known for using the press to play his little mind games. Rassie is just responding in kind.

[Sards]

Oh my word...............................................

This is really becoming embarrassing

[average joe]

If Rassie was so interested in tackling ref inconsistencies, he could have highlighted some examples where SA benefitted.

It's not his job As a Lions supporter you could make it yourself and post it on social media if you like. He actually invites you to do so.

[Margin__Walker]

If Rassie was so interested in tackling ref inconsistencies, he could have highlighted some examples where SA benefitted.

It's not his job As a Lions supporter you could make it yourself and post it on social media if you like. He actually invites you to do so.

To what end? It's all so infantile and does the sport no good at all.

It's a hard game to ref and you go into any game knowing things will be missed. There are all kinds of ref assessments in place to pick up on refs having a really bad day (this wasn't one of them imo) and work constructively on that front. The whole game is built upon a basic respect for the ref. Fans (myself included) will always have a gripe about the odd big call that went against them, but something like this by a DOR is way off the deep end

[Kawazaki]

If Rassie was so interested in tackling ref inconsistencies, he could have highlighted some examples where SA benefitted.

It's not his job As a Lions supporter you could make it yourself and post it on social media if you like. He actually invites you to do so.

His job doesn't include selectively editing a game with hundreds of decisions made by the ref and presenting just 26 of them to social media in an hour long rant after he's had a few drinks.

He should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute, hopefully the day after the third test. Then WR should withdraw a percentage of their central funding for SA rugby as a fine because asking them to pay a fine would be a waste of time.

[handyman]

If Rassie was so interested in tackling ref inconsistencies, he could have highlighted some examples where SA benefitted.

It's not his job As a Lions supporter you could make it yourself and post it on social media if you like. He actually invites you to do so.

His job doesn't include selectively editing a game with hundreds of decisions made by the ref and presenting just 26 of them to social media in an hour long rant after he's had a few drinks.

He should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute, hopefully the day after the third test. Then WR should withdraw a percentage of their central funding for SA rugby as a fine because asking them to pay a fine would be a waste of time.

Kawazaki and Margin Walker comes with baggage with everything South Africa, so I would refrain from replying to these trolls from now on.

[Margin__Walker]

What makes you say that Handyman? I have no baggage with SA thanks. Love the place and had a great time travelling round in 09. Lots of distant relatives over there too as my Mum's from that part of the world originally.

Never had any Issue until now with SA rugby. Well maybe when Krige went a bit off piste, but that's about it.

[ScarfaceClaw]

He’s well on the path towards making P Divvy look sane and rational. It’s cringy stuff from Rassie.

[shaggy]

What makes you say that Handyman? I have no baggage with SA thanks. Love the place and had a great time travelling round in 09. Lots of distant relatives over there too as my Mum's from that part of the world originally.

Never had any Issue until now with SA rugby. Well maybe when Krige went a bit off piste, but that's about it.

Blimey, SA posters doing a very passable impression of NZ supporters with endless deflection and down right refusal. I thought they were better than that.

[Paddington Bear]

Sure someone has mentioned it above, but in literally every game of rugby ever you could put together a video of calls that didn't go your way. The shame is that if this does actually appear to influence a ref in the final two games everyone will start doing similar. Pathetic stuff that does the game no credit at all.

[handyman]

Sure someone has mentioned it above, but in literally every game of rugby ever you could put together a video of calls that didn't go your way. The shame is that if this does actually appear to influence a ref in the final two games everyone will start doing similar. Pathetic stuff that does the game no credit at all.

Gatland influenced the tmo in the run up to the first test.

[Blake]

I don't think it's a total attack on the referee, rather the match officials.

If they're shit, they should be held accountable. Perhaps not like this though.

So I actually went and watched the whole thing. Completely different to what I was expecting and what it is being made out to be.

On the one side you have Gatland who preemptively accused a referee of bias, before a match and was lauded for it.

On the other side you have a unique situation in the modern era where it has been quite uncommon to have the same set of 4 officials for 3 tests in a row.
Usually Rassie & Co. could just take the bad calls on the chin, chalk it up to swings and roundabouts, and move onto referee analysis of the next ref.
But this time it's different. Rassie and Nienaber only have 2 training sessions to correct any issues regarding law interpretations.
If the referees made mistakes and acknowledge them, then the team can move on and keep to the gameplan trusting that the officials will be on the lookout for similar issues in the next match.
But without timely and detailed feedback from World Rugby how are Rassie and Nienaber expected to adjust their approach to the 2nd test to compete on even footing?

It's a bad look and a bad precedent, but I think it it's an edge case brought about by the specific situation of having the same group of officials in a row, and not being able to properly prepare for a match if the WR Referee Report has such a slow turnaround time.

[Paddington Bear]

Sure someone has mentioned it above, but in literally every game of rugby ever you could put together a video of calls that didn't go your way. The shame is that if this does actually appear to influence a ref in the final two games everyone will start doing similar. Pathetic stuff that does the game no credit at all.

Gatland influenced the tmo in the run up to the first test.

'The TMO should be from a neutral country' is both true and very different to an hour long monologue, this isn't complicated.

[Biffer]

Sure someone has mentioned it above, but in literally every game of rugby ever you could put together a video of calls that didn't go your way. The shame is that if this does actually appear to influence a ref in the final two games everyone will start doing similar. Pathetic stuff that does the game no credit at all.

Gatland influenced the tmo in the run up to the first test.

'The TMO should be from a neutral country' is both true and very different to an hour long monologue, this isn't complicated.

Yeah. What all our saffers seem to be missing is that if the TMO had been from a neutral country he wouldn’t have felt the pressure to over compensate. So Gatland was right.

[handyman]

Sure someone has mentioned it above, but in literally every game of rugby ever you could put together a video of calls that didn't go your way. The shame is that if this does actually appear to influence a ref in the final two games everyone will start doing similar. Pathetic stuff that does the game no credit at all.

Gatland influenced the tmo in the run up to the first test.

'The TMO should be from a neutral country' is both true and very different to an hour long monologue, this isn't complicated.

I agree, but World Rugby (not SARU) appointed Jonker and Gatland used it to put massive pressure on him.

[JM2K6]

My opinion - I'm not a fan of fighting this battle in the media. It's just slinging mud back and forth. What I will say is that when I watched all the clips, there are a lot of very basic errors made by Berry and the AR's. I'm talking schoolboy errors. Some of which are very difficult to explain. And

If you're trying to imply that the referee, ARs and the TMO are bent then say it. Own that opinion. That's what Erasmus wants you to think but he's too chicken shit to say it.

I can't believe that, not at this level. Which leaves incompetent.

Hooray, some agreement. They are shit. Except they weren't biased in favour of the Lions - plenty of horrible calls went against the Lions, particularly in the first half.

[PCPhil]

Can’t believe that a majority of SA posters seem to be now taking it as read that everything the ‘large verbal assaulter of refs’ insinuated is true. It was just how he said it that was a ‘tad’ strong. Every other rugby playing nations news considers it a national embarrassment.

More wagons please?

[Margin__Walker]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

[Blake]

Gatland influenced the tmo in the run up to the first test.

'The TMO should be from a neutral country' is both true and very different to an hour long monologue, this isn't complicated.

I agree, but World Rugby (not SARU) appointed Jonker and Gatland used it to put massive pressure on him.

Jonker wasn't even the first choice. He stepped in as an emergency replacement after the NZ referee that was appointed as series TMO pulled out at the last minute.

[boere wors]

We should wear armbands!

Justice4Bokke!

[Big Nipper]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

Don't expect much from him. Probably the worst Saffer poster out there, and that says a lot

[Sards]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

Handy is normally a balanced poster. Good bloke. Very surprised he has been caught up in this.

[Sards]

We should wear armbands!

Justice4Bokke!

Justice for Rassie

[Sards]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

Don't expect much from him. Probably the worst Saffer poster out there, and that says a lot

See ......see....now you have us Saffers shitfighting and insulting each other....wtf

[handyman]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

Don't expect much from him. Probably the worst Saffer poster out there, and that says a lot

Actually an endorsement coming from you! Good luck with Covid boet

[handyman]

Hey Handyman. Still waiting for some evidence of my baggage with everything South African. Any progress on that yet?

Handy is normally a balanced poster. Good bloke. Very surprised he has been caught up in this.

I'm all good, boet, thanks for asking.