Australia v England: The Second

[dgilks]

Watching the game now and witnessed an interesting conversation between Romain Poite and his AR Nigel Owens. NO was reporting a piece of foul play by 1 White and appeared to be directing RP in terms of the correct sanction. It was along the lines of "There was some push and shove. 1 White threw the last punch. It is a PK where 12 Gold is now standing". While I don't think there was anything wrong with the decision, it seemed odd that (based on the television feed) the AR was leading the ref rather than the other way around. Did anyone else find this odd?

 

[chief]

Owens wants tv time. Typical Owens. Owens loves his television time and the sound of his own voice. Should have been at Poite's discretion, Owens just sounding like a control freak. Thank god there are no more test matches with him under our control.

 

[Simon Thomas]

Nothing odd all, if the refs pre-match to ARs is "if I didn't see it, you lead and tell me what you saw", but "if I saw it I will ask you to add anything after I tell you what I saw". Standard RFU and IRB Team of 3 protocols.

 

[dgilks]

Nothing odd all, if the refs pre-match to ARs is "if I didn't see it, you lead and tell me what you saw", but "if I saw it I will ask you to add anything after I tell you what I saw". Standard RFU and IRB Team of 3 protocols.

Fair enough. Standard here is more of a "If you see something, put your flag up, I will ask you for offence and number. I will then ask for a recommended sanction". If that is the standard IRB protocol then I have no problem with it, it was just a little alien to me as it appears that we have a slightly different Ref-AR dynamic.

On another note, are you noticing the incredibly short advantage played by RP?

 

[dgilks]

And what has happened to the Australian scrum. It has gone from last week's awful, awful mess to something quite decent. Whatever Patricio Noriega did this week has obviously worked.

 

[Phil E]

And what has happened to the Australian scrum. It has gone from last week's awful, awful mess to something quite decent. Whatever Patricio Noriega did this week has obviously worked.

You might want to retract that :biggrin:

 

[dgilks]

You might want to retract that :biggrin:

Just as I bloody well said it too. I mean FFS, it was looking good until that one. As the Channel 7 commentators quite rightly said, England has figured out how to time the push to get the Aussies of guard now. Let's see how the rest of the game goes.

 

[chief]

Australia have a piss shit scrum but it doesn't matter. According to Ian, England should be penalised at every scrum for their binding. I don't agree with it, let the scrums be.

 

[dgilks]

Australia have a piss shit scrum but it doesn't matter. According to Ian, England should be penalised at every scrum for their binding. I don't agree with it, let the scrums be.

I'll be honest. When props in my games put binds on the sleeve I immediately play advantage and then PK them if none accrues. It is unfair play and I hate lazy binds by props.

And as I write this, RP PKs 3 White for illegal binding. Good on him.

 

[Ian_Cook]

According to Ian, England should be penalised at every scrum for their binding. I don't agree with it, let the scrums be.

And as I write this, RP PKs 3 White for illegal binding. Good on him.

 

[Taff]

... witnessed an interesting conversation between Romain Poite and his AR Nigel Owens. ... it seemed odd that (based on the television feed) the AR was leading the ref rather than the other way around. Did anyone else find this odd?

Almost invariably though Nigel Owens is right - and he knows he's right, but being one of the top refs in the world, I think people get the impression that he sometimes finds it difficult to be an assistant.

 

[chief]

I've heard similar comments before. Almost invariably though Nigel Owens is right - and he knows he's right, but being one of the top refs in the world, I get the impression that he finds it difficult to be an assistant.

He's a control freak

 

[Emmet Murphy]

I'm not sure NO was right - all I saw was a lot of pushing (though it might have occured earlier obviously). I thought RP should have penalised the Australians at the previous scrum after four or five of them surrounded Steve Thompson patting him on the back. Yes I know that does go on but it was excessive on that occasion and - if a punch was thrown at the next scrum - then it could have been prevented by better player management.

 

[Taff]

He's a control freak

My employees call me a "control freak" but you say it as though it's a bad thing.

I prefer to call myself ... "decisive" or "proactive".

That's his style - some like it, some don't. I happen to know Nigel Owens and his character is to be straight, eg he won't give you a rambling wishy washy answer if its a "yes" or "no" question.

 

[chief]

He was probably right. He shouldn't have come on. Let them be. Just time wasting. No question though he loves his own voice.

 

[Simon Thomas]

He's a control freak

correct me if I am wrong but I thought refereeing was all about control - match management & communication to ensure safety, equity and law complaince ? Both overtly and less conspicous as the scenario demands it.

 

[Phil E]

Well that was a bit better :biggrin:

 

[Ian_Cook]

Outstanding!!

See what can happen when you RUN the ball!!

 

[dgilks]

It was a good game. It's just a pity that Giteau missed 3 penalties, any of which would have won the game.

 

[Simon Thomas]

The referee is actually applying the Laws (mostly) - see what happens !

And England appear to have offered much more choice and flexibility to the players in the play patterns executed.