Rugby World Cup 2015

[Wowbagger]

Bollocks. Bloody Welsh...

[andyoxon]

Great game.

[Wowbagger]

Such a shame. There have been 4 close games that I have watched (FGVO "watched") in which a team has come from behind to win in the final minutes. The first two went the way I wanted them to. The second two did not.

Well done, and really bad luck, Scotland. Well done Australia.

[αdαmsκι]

      

With two minutes left and a Scottish lineout I, like a lot of other people I imagine, thought Scotland would win.

[simonp]

Arse.

[TimC]

That was an amazing game, and for either team to have won would have been the 'right' result. In the end, I think the rain made it very difficult for either side to keep the ball in hand, and the last call went unfortunately against Scotland. But that was 80 minutes that went by in a flash!

[Psychler]

But for two poor refereeing decisions - sin binning and the last penalty - that would have been Scotland's.

A really enjoyable weekend of rugby.

 

[David Martin]

What other decision could have been made? Knock on and caught by an offside player. Didn't see the sin binning. Scotland missed a conversion - that is what made the difference (oh, and capitalising on two mistakes by Australia that allowed them to get tries)

[αdαmsκι]

My understanding is that the Scots thought the ball came off an Ozzie, so therefore it wasn't a knock on.

[Andrew]

Scotland played out of their skins. They fought damned hard, and with passion and belief, and it nearly paid off. Believe me (as a kiwi) I was rooting for them.

Games are decided by the score board, I know, but I do honestly think that the Aussies (and it genuinely hurts me to say this) were the better* team on the pitch.

*and we can debate the definition of 'better' until the cows wander off down to the pub

[David Martin]

My understanding is that the Scots thought the ball came off an Ozzie, so therefore it wasn't a knock on.

Wouldn't have been, but it wasn't so it was. Mens rea doesn't come in to it.

[Wowbagger]

I didn't see today's game, but Dan Lucas, the Graun's textist, reckoned that it wasn't a deliberate knock on, it shouldn't have been a penalty and it certainly shouldn't hve been a sin-binning. He also hoped that Joubert wouldn't be refereeing any more games. I did see Cuthbert's knock-on last week, and I would doubt that that was deliberate either.

Obviously, anyone attempting to intercept a pass is going to have to come from an on-side position, so if his judgment is slightly awry, the ball is bound to be knocked forward. Cuthbert's attempt last week looked to me like a guy who was genuinely trying to get the ball at full stretch, and he might have been successful if the Aussie guy hadn't tackled him when he was in the middle of the attempt.

[firedfromthecircus]

It was a Scotland lineout.
Win it and keep possession for 2 minutes and it's onto the semis to get beaten by Argentina (who I thought were excellent today btw even though I was rooting for Ireland). Simple stuff really.
They failed to win their own restart. The Aussie still had to kick it.
That's sport.

[Psychler]

What other decision could have been made? Knock on and caught by an offside player. Didn't see the sin binning. Scotland missed a conversion - that is what made the difference (oh, and capitalising on two mistakes by Australia that allowed them to get tries)

They showed the replay of the "knock on" incident several times after the end of the match and it appears that it may have been an Australian that the ball came off not a Scot, therefore the player who caught it wasn't offside.  That was a decision that should have been referred to the TMO but wasn't.

The knock on which lead to the sin binning was referred, IMHO [and several pundits'] the Scottish right wing's arm was already extended before the ball left the Aussie and there was no attempt to knock the ball forward.  Knock on - yes, deliberate knock on - very doubtful, sin bin - very, very harsh!  Could have changed the match as the Aussies scored almost immediately on that wing, now vacated. 

All in all, I think the best team won - just! 

[αdαmsκι]

The knock on which lead to the sin binning was referred, IMHO [and several pundits'] the Scottish right wing's arm was already extended before the ball left the Aussie and there was no attempt to knock the ball forward.  Knock on - yes, deliberate knock on - very doubtful, sin bin - very, very harsh!

The knock on law in that situation seems a bit odd. I do understand that deliberating knocking on the ball will prevent it going to the Aussie winger, thereby ending the attack.  Doing that deliberately is a clinical tactic. However, it seems there's two ways things can go:

1) The player catches the interception, claim possession, charges upfield and makes a massive chunk of territory
2) The player fumbles the interception, knocks the ball forward, nullifies the attack and ends up going to the bin for ten minutes as it's seen as deliberate.

[Psychler]

If the player attempts to catch the ball or knock it backwards but fails and the ball goes forward [and hits the ground or another player], it's a knock on - scrum awarded with put in by the opposition.

If he deliberately knocks the ball forwards [and it hits the ground or another player] even if he then tries to catch the ball but fails, it's a deliberate knock on - penalty awarded and often a yellow card.

In this afternoon's situation, I believe that the Scottish player's arm was already extended, there was no forward motion of it to bat the ball forwards [or otherwise] and therefore was not a deliberate knock on.  In my opinion, it should have been a scrum and no yellow card.

I've just rewatched it and that is still my opinion. But I wasn't the referee!

[Mr Larrington]

I didn't see today's game, but Dan Lucas, the Graun's textist, reckoned that it wasn't a deliberate knock on, it shouldn't have been a penalty and it certainly shouldn't hve been a sin-binning. He also hoped that Joubert wouldn't be refereeing any more games.

Joubert is as much of a useless waste of space as André bloody Watson.  Even Michael Lynagh is saying it should have been referred to the the TMO.  Apparently he was nearly hit by a bottle while running off the park like a frightened rabbit; opinions vary as to whether it was thrown by a spectator or a Scottish player.

[Psychler]

Joubert is as much of a useless waste of space as André bloody Watson. 

Or even Steve Walsh, the well known drunken Kiwi/Australian.

[Jaded]

Arse!

I was doing stuff up scaffolding and I missed the only real opportunity for a NH team to get to the semi finals.

Like I said.

Arse!

[David Martin]

BBC says regulations wouldn't allow referal to the TMO. He had to call it then as he saw it, and clearly got it wrong. But for the missed conversion..

[Mr Larrington]

Seems this is not the first time his decisions in an important match have been called into question.

[Peter]

It seems proportionate to remember that he spotted a knock-on in the scrum by an Australian and so disallowed an Australian try.  I'm glad I'm not a referee.

[Bledlow]

Argentina were bloody excellent, and Ireland were well beaten. I'm sure there was a degree of Argentina having nothing to lose, and Ireland having huge expectations on their shoulders to cope with (as did England and Wales), but this World Cup is ripping up the form book, and I think that's great!

Indeed. Argentina has good backs now, not just forwards.

Japan & Argentina have grabbed headlines, but they're not the only teams to have played better than many expected.

[simonp]

It seems proportionate to remember that he spotted a knock-on in the scrum by an Australian and so disallowed an Australian try.  I'm glad I'm not a referee.

I don’t think he saw that knock-on. I think it was spotted by the TMO.

[Psychler]

BBC says regulations wouldn't allow referal to the TMO. He had to call it then as he saw it, and clearly got it wrong. But for the missed conversion..

Yes, I've just checked and you [and the BBC] are correct.

World Rugby Laws state:

The TMO can only be used in the following circumstances:
Determining the grounding of the ball in-goal for a try or touchdown and/or whether players were in touch or touch in goal before grounding.
Determining whether a kick at goal has been successful.
Confirm if an infringement has occurred in the build-up to a try or prevention of a try (infringement must be within two phases of the try or touchdown).
Considering acts of possible foul play.

A gray area but under these regulations he then shouldn't have consulted the TMO with regard to the sin binning.  There was no try, no foul play and by his own admission no infringement in the build up to a try [there was no try or likely try].  He had already indicated that there had been a knock on and scrum awarded to Aus.  I think the TMO called in to Joubert which, under the letter of the law, he shouldn't have done.

A technicality perhaps but take the 7 points for the converted try that happened immediately after away from Australia and we have a diferent position.

I don't think that the knock on was " clearly and obviously" deliberate even with the TMO.

Anyway, with ex Scotland player John Jeffrey heading up the refereee appointment panel for RWC, I don't think Joubert willl get another game.  Let's see.