No ref-bashing from the Boks camp
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber has opted to steer clear of criticising the referee’s decisions following his team’s defeat to the Wallabies.
The New Zealand referee Paul Williams was heavily criticised for his performance during South Africa’s 17-25 loss to Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.
The defeat saw the Boks extend their losing streak in Australia and handed the World Champions their third loss of the year.
The Springboks trailed throughout the match and were certainly up against some controversial refereeing decisions by Williams.
The first incident that had many up in arms was Faf De Klerk’s yellow card at the break.
De Klerk spent 10 minutes in the sin bin after making contact with his opposite Nic White’s face in the effort to go for the ball.
However, it was clear that the referee was seemingly conned by the Wallaby’s theatrics that saw the scrumhalf go down and clutch his face.
The other incident was Marika Korebeite’s tackle on Makazole Mapimpi. The Bok wing dived towards the try line but was tackled by Korobeite, who made a no arms shoulder charge that warranted a yellow card.
However, instead, the spear went unpunished and was dubbed a try-saving tackle.
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“The referee made a decision and we will live by it,” Nienaber said when asked about the yellow card handed to De Klerk.
“I’m going to stay clear of that, it is what it is.
“The yellow card came at a bad time, it’s a tough one to lose your 9, especially on defence and they capitalised.
“Defensively, looking back, I think we could have controlled it better.”
On the Korobeite tackle, Nienaber said: “He’s a quality player. It showed their desperation. Credit to the Wallabies.
“We can only look at ourselves, we can only control what we do.”
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi also chipped in, stating: “We don’t comment on the referee’s decisions.
“That is his job, and we worry about what we can control.”
The Springboks do have a chance to rectify their wrongs when the two sides meet this weekend in Rugby Championship Round Four clash in Sydney.
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