Officials 'lack a hard edge'

OPINION: Rugbypass contributor Paul Smith takes a closer look at the officiating during the British and Irish Lions win over Johannesburg-based Lions on Saturday.

Pre-test series warm-up matches in most sports these days leave a little to be desired.

In cricket, for example, the growingly common sight of Australia facing county second XI bowlers delivers little by way of meaningful practice.

Historically the British & Irish Lions have eased into tours with a couple of gentle pipe-openers – so perhaps the relatively uncompetitive run-outs against Japan and the Lions franchise is nothing that unusual.

But…and it’s a big one…this is a Lions tour like no other in many ways.

As a result, there are very few opportunities for meaningful game time before the all-important first test with the Springboks.

Being under-cooked against the World Champions (who admittedly themselves are entirely without match practice) is a worrying prospect.

After all, coming back from one-nil down against a side renowned for its toughness is the hardest possible route to a series win.

And it seems to me that the refereeing of both warm-up games to date has – like the contests themselves – lacked a hard edge.

While Pascal Gauzere and AJ Jacobs have blended unobtrusively into the background and done perfectly reasonable jobs, I am left with an uncomfortable feeling that the B&I Lions’ medium-term prospects are not being helped by this relaxed approach.

Based on recent history, beating South Africa – which only New Zealand managed in the pool stages of Japan 2019 – requires a side to at least share and ideally win huge physical contests at the scrum, lineout and breakdown.

As England discovered in the World Cup final, if you are unable to subdue their setpiece and win some quick ball in the contact area, you will have very little possession with which to attack.

*Article contineus below…

Scrum

I thought Nigel Owens’ presence in the commentary team brought plenty of insight – and it was obvious from an early stage (when he remarked on the number of collapses and resets) that he was unhappy with the refereeing of the scrum.

As the details below show, AJ Jacobs was happy to set his standards fairly low and as a result, the scrum became less of a contest and more of a mechanism to get the game restarted.

This is definitely not what the Lions will experience when the test matches arrive.

On the six Johannesburg Lions feeds there were five resets. Three subsequently collapsed with play being allowed to continue. One Jo’burg feed resulted in a B&I Lions penalty.

The four B&I Lions feeds resulted in the award of one free-kick and two penalties to the tourists. The fourth scrum collapsed with play again being allowed to continue.

None of the ten scrums therefore completed without a penalty/free kick award, reset or collapse – a situation which it is impossible to imagine being acceptable in a test match.

Line-out

The Springbok line-out from the Matfield/Botha era onwards has been a well-oiled machine that takes a lot to disrupt.

In Johannesburg, the tourists were penalised for across-the-line-out contact in the 13th and 14th minutes after which they adjusted their approach.

By my reckoning, the B&I Lions’ line-out stats against the Jo’burg Lions were a perfect 21-from-21 while they stole two of their hosts’ 11 throws.

Warren Gatland’s side also had a 100 percent return on their own throw against Japan seven days earlier.

Competition in the air was all but eradicated during these matches – the big question is will this standard also be applied during the test series?

Breakdown Area

Regular viewers of the Six Nations, Champions Cup and Premiership are used to seeing the breakdown as an area where a number of turnovers are achieved in every match.

But like the lineout, it seemed very little competition was allowed on the ground during the B&I Lions’ win over the Johannesburg Lions.

It is hard to remember one turnover of note, while the ‘jackallers’ on both sides won only three penalties between them.

Along with tough policing of the tackler, this provided plenty of quick balls which hugely benefitted the Lions. It also enhanced the game as a spectacle…but again, is this how the test series will be officiated?

50/50 Calls

To continue with the theme, I felt AJ Jacobs twice took the route of least resistance when looking at tight decisions with the assistance of the TMO.

Wyn Jones’ try was correctly ruled out for Courtney Lawes’ using a neck roll when clearing the previous breakdown. However, this contact with the head – which as Nigel Owens pointed out was continuous rather than instantaneous – would surely have merited a yellow card in most top-class rugby.

I believe the Northampton forward would almost certainly also have spent time in the sin bin last weekend in a match refereed to normal ‘competitive’ standards when he cynically slowed Japanese possession down in the B&I Lions 22 shortly before half-time.

And surely Jonny Hill’s obstruction by Nathan Mcbeth in the build-up to the Joburg Lions’ second try would be reviewed and probably penalised in a test match?

Appointments

SARFU has brought experienced international officials (and Saturday’s touch judges) Wayne Barnes and Jaco Peyper into an officiating bubble and they between them will control the Lions’ remaining warm-up games.

The Johannesburg Lions finished bottom of the recent Rainbow Cup rankings, so perhaps as the standard of the opposition improves we will see a corresponding increase in intensity levels from the men with the whistle?

By Paul Smith, Rugbypass