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Bok fans hit out at official

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT: Despite what many neutrals saw as an exceptional refereeing performance – Springboks fans and even a former player were not happy with Luke Pearce in the wake of their shock defeat to the All Blacks in Johannesburg on Saturday.

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Ian Foster’s New Zealand ran out 35-23 victors over the Boks in the second of their two games on South African soil.

It’s a win that few predicted after a display of dominance from the hosts a week earlier and it hasn’t gone down well with SA fans – who have sought to scapegoat Pearce for the loss.

Even former Springboks were getting in on the act, with Breyton Paulse posting: “The Boks certainly didn’t deserve to win tonight but the ref made some really bad calls at critical times that took our oemf away, not good at all!!”

The complaints from South African fans were in stark contrast to neutrals, who widely lauded a superb performance from the Premiership whistler.

RugbyPass’ Ben Smith noted: “I, for one, am disappointed Luke Pearce missed 25 tackles out there on the field. Someone, somewhere, should do something about that.”

Squidge Rugby observed how Pearce – like Nigel Owens before him – is nearly always involved in exceptionally good matches.

By Ian Cameron, Rugbypass

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