John Kirwan says the officiating was “poor” in the All Blacks’ tour opener against the Stormers and prays that won’t be the case in the Test series.
New Zealand had three players yellow-carded during their 38-21 victory at Cape Town Stadium – centre Anton Lienert-Brown, flank Simon Parker and fullback Josh Moorby – and Kirwan was unimpressed with referee Karl Dickson’s handling of the match.
“One of the disappointing things for me was the refereeing; for me it was just pedantic,” the former All Blacks wing said on the Rugby Rivals podcast.
“I thought the yellow cards were marginal at best. To play any game with 13 is going to be tough, so I thought the refereeing was poor, and the All Blacks, rightly so, said we need to fix our discipline – and that’s true.
“You cannot go through a game without that discipline; the discipline in the mid parts of that game will need improving, but I just pray that we don’t get referees that pedantic.”
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The discussion then turned to the increasing involvement of the TMO and whether players would simply have to adapt to the way matches are being officiated.
Former Bok lock Victor Matfield agreed that the TMO’s role was unlikely to change, but believes decisions need to be reached more quickly.
“I hate it. But unfortunately, that’s how it’s going to be. That’s how World Rugby wants the game to be run,” Matfield said.
“We do want the right decisions – so TMOs will get involved.
“For me, it’s about how quickly they make those decisions, or even if they see something, have a look while the game is going, then go back and say this is what happened, but let’s get speed into the game. Unfortunately, we’re not going to change it.”
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Matfield said players would have to adjust to the way incidents are being officiated.
“If a guy goes for the intercept, it goes to the ground; that’s a yellow card. If he slips up and makes head contact, it’s going to be a yellow card.
“Those are things that we don’t want to see, but unfortunately, the way it’s refereed, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Photo: Cole Cruickshank/Gallo Images
The post All Blacks legend wary of ‘pedantic’ refs appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
John Kirwan says the officiating was “poor” in the All Blacks’ tour opener against the Stormers and prays that won’t be the case in the Test series.
The post All Blacks legend wary of ‘pedantic’ refs appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
