Unfortunately SNW still have an issue with supplying photos so having to reuse old ones!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:01:18:08:11:57 by Darraghgirl.

Many thanks for the preview. I wish a safe and enjoyable visit to any who are coming up as long as we get the points. Hopefully it will be a good game.

Excellent preview. Don't forget we have the Leinster game to break up that 6 Nations period I believe but as you say, a somewhat relentless slog for those Internationals called up for the 6 Nations.
Also given its Pearce maybe Jamie George rather than Farrell doing the only talking!

Brilliant preview and thanks for the name check!

Hoping for a couple of returnees but that was almost a worse case scenario team and had assumed Hanro & Ben Youngs available!

Had benched O. Chessum because of the schedule for the International players and a 6 day turnaround for Tigers (getting my excuses in early)

I’ve noticed a few England players are missing in the matches tomorrow night, is there supposed to a rest for some?
Christie has played every week so could be one to sit this week out. Theo M too has played a fair bit.

Shouldn't this be a pre match related comments thread?

Quote:

tigerburnie
Shouldn't this be a pre match related comments thread?

Unfortunately SNW limits the number of characters in the title page and "Leicester tigers" takes up too many so had to abbreviate the rest. We know what we mean!!!!

I'll bite. Yes, and it's asking for you to post your thoughts before the match (not 'post match').
Of course you can come back with your after match comments tomorrow, if you wish.

Surely "post-match" is hyphenated? so 100% correct headline

Don't call me Shirley.........................................................................I miss those films.....................

Change 2post" to "add" or "make", but we know what is meant!

Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade

🌻🌻🌻

Saracens Men team to play Leicester Tigers:

1 Sam Crean
2 Kapeli Pifeleti
3 Christian Judge
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Theo McFarland
7 Juan Martin Gonzalez
8 Ben Earl
9 Gareth Simpson
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Lucio Cinti
12 Nick Tompkins
13 Elliot Daly
14 Rotimi Segun
15 Tom Parton

Replacements:
16 Theo Dan
17 Logovi’i Mulipola
18 Ollie Hoskins
19 Nick Isiekwe
20 Andy Christie
21 Ivan van Zyl
22 Manu Vunipola
23 Alex Lewington



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:01:05:12:04:45 by Sarriebone.

Tigers 🐯

15 Freddie Steward [79]
14 Harry Simmons [36]
13 Dan Kelly [70]
12 Solomone Kata [9]
11 Mike Brown [18]
10 Handré Pollard [22]
9 Tom Whiteley [19]
1 James Cronin [24]
2 Julián Montoya (c) [49] *
3 Joe Heyes [134]
4 George Martin [71]
5 Ollie Chessum [50]
6 Matt Rogerson [12]
7 Tommy Reffell [107]
8 Jasper Wiese [68]

REPLACEMENTS

16 Finn Theobold-Thomas [4]
17 Francois van Wyk [43]
18 Will Hurd [35]
19 Harry Wells [187]
20 Kyle Hatherell [10]
21 Olly Cracknell [31]
22 Ben Youngs [308]
23 Jamie Shillcock [15]

The only returnee is Youngs on the bench, but at least Kata is fit and Mike Brown has extended his contract 👍

I wasn’t expecting Jamie to be rested but it makes sense. Big test for Crean and Pifeleti. I find it strange that IVZ isn’t starting a lot of the time but that is a strong looking bench.

Obviously decided to keep Billy out of Luke Pearces ear

Two very strong squads.

Some interesting choices in that 23. As ever not quite sure what is injury unavailability (Hartely? Davies?) what is rotation and what is tactical.

Looking at the starting 23 it feels like if the XV can still be in touch once the bench come on then Sarries have a chance despite Tigers also having a strong bench too.

Hopefully Pifeleti has spent the some of his recovery time practicing his darts. We have very strong lineout options and exciting quick backs to release off those set plays but we have to be able to hit our jumpers. Great to see McFarland at 6 and with he, Sarries locks, JMG and Christie we have some great lineout options in attack and defence.
Both wings but Segun especially chased brilliantly last game but I hope this is one that we keep the ball in hand more and test Tigers defence wider out. My preference would be to see Sarries, when we do kick, vary that more but I also feel we could put pressure of Tigers by kicking off the field to force them to take lineouts in their half at which we compete.

If we can cope with Tigers scrum, physicality and Reffell slowing and stealing ball at the breakdown then we have a chance!

Huge game for both Simpson and Crean. Good luck to both and the whole team. COYS.

Guardian preview.
[www.theguardian.com]

Safe travels

Big, big game today if we want to be near the top of the league come the end of season. The sides look fairly evenly matched so could very well be a cliff hanger right to the end. COYS.

Scrum v lineout then breakdown are the areas that will decide it for me. On paper and form we should have the upper hand in the scrum, you will dominate the lineout and the breakdown will be fascinating

Agree Stopsy. I do think that whilst your lineout has been struggling you have all the pieces in place for it to be good so I'm not sure if that will be as clearcut despite being confident we have great options there in the lineout we have struggled with accuracy from hooker previously.

Unlike COYS I feel Tigers have a very obvious advantage in terms of a nearer full squad but we play with the teams available! Hoping yesterdays news doesn't factor in our performance unless its in a positive way (I think that's all the excuses bases covered!!)

I can't say that I'm as confident as some here that it will even be close but we need to take advantage of the huge favour Bears did for us yesterday.

Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade

🌻🌻🌻

Quote:

OldMarovian
I feel Tigers have a very obvious advantage in terms of a nearer full squad but we play with the teams available! Hoping yesterday’s news doesn't factor in our performance unless it’s in a positive way (I think that's all the excuses bases covered!!)

Nice try OM but can’t let you have that excuse
Injuries whilst in different positions for those that would get in a 23, roughly about the same number.

Saracens

Mako (Banned)
Mawi
West
Riccioni
RAH
CHH
Willis
Loz
And probably a couple I have missed!

🐯
Centres/Wings
Scott
Porter
OHC
Bassett
Watson

Hooker
Clare
Dolly
Vanes

Other Positions
JVP
Cam Henderson
Liebenberg
Cole

It's where the injuries are for us tigersimon. Our prop resources and until recently lock too.
As were seeing without at least parity up front Rugby is a very difficult game! I think you have a similar issue at hooker.

The lad Montoya looks promising 😊

Quote:

OldMarovian
It's where the injuries are for us tigersimon. Our prop resources and until recently lock too.
As were seeing without at least parity up front Rugby is a very difficult game! I think you have a similar issue at hooker.

Appreciate it’s all in the Front row (& was at lock)
Hooker is 1st choice starting but then probably 5th for FTT with no disrespect to the guy!
The other is the centre/wing with Brown out on the wing and being forced to play Kata/Kelly again when Kata could probably do with a rest. As we discussed earlier in the week my worst case scenario team was Steward starting at 13 and it’s quite likely we have gone 6-2 today because of the number of backs out.
Just don’t knock the ball on and I will hope Pollard can control the game without putting the ball into touch unless it’s a 50/22 or from a PK!
Enjoy the game (but not too much)!

Quote:

Stopsy
The lad Montoya looks promising 😊

I think given time he might prove himself Stopsy

Quote:

Stopsy
The lad Montoya looks promising 😊

🤣

Tight one so far 12-10 at HT

A cracking game so far

My daughter is at the game and tells me the fans were booing Farrel at the half time whistle with ‘le Boo’! Imaginative to say the least.

Quote:

Nosher1979
My daughter is at the game and tells me the fans were booing Farrel at the half time whistle with ‘le Boo’! Imaginative to say the least.

If he hasn’t made his mind up yet that’ll do it

Ridiculous yellow given to Maro

Does anyone have the figures on the number of penalties we’ve conceded at the scrum this season? I think it will cost us a spot in the play offs.

Quote:

#wolfpack1
Does anyone have the figures on the number of penalties we’ve conceded at the scrum this season? I think it will cost us a spot in the play offs.

It is a coaching issue this.

I know we’re missing plenty, but it doesn’t really matter who plays- every week we shuffle the cards and every week we get battered.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:01:06:16:35:06 by #wolfpack1.

Not getting the rub of the green with some of the decisions. Even Austin Healey feels we are some of the decisions!

Pinged for obstructing... And then Leicester do exactly the same thing and it's fine...

A lot of growing concern for this season. Faz looked completely off it today, and IVZ seems to be struggling a bit this season. Ben looked good as always, as did JMG and little Theo. But it’s just been a bit underwhelming so far this season.

We needed that, good luck going forwards.

Leicester dominated our scrum, Pearce really did not have a good game with the whistle (Itoje yellow was bananas) and we made that far worse by giving away far too many silly penalties! I think 6th in the table feels about right given the mediocre performances we are putting in most weeks. Only one really decent performance so far this year, away against Quins. Really difficult to be optimistic about next week at this moment. Lots and lots for the coaches to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed that game. Some amazing skills on show. If we can work on catching the ball/accuracy I’ll be even happier.
A great game between two good squads on the day.
The number of penalties conceded probably reflects the pressure we put you under and as you know, refs tend to favour the side applying the pressure.

It was a lot better performance than it could have been with our sick bay. Maros yellow must have been a cumulative penalty but was probably decisive. Nicks penalty was soft likewise but I also think was through referee frustration at previous infringements.

With 7 games to go and next three against front runners, we need get the strategy and discipline right.

With regard to Maro’s yellow card, it was because he tackled Wiese having not retreated behind his goal line.

Healey was wrong, plain and simple.

OPPOSING TEAM AT A PENALTY OR FREE-KICK

When a penalty or free-kick is awarded, the opposing team must immediately retreat 10 metres towards their own goal line or until they have reached their goal line if that is closer.

Even if the penalty or free-kick is taken quickly and the kicker’s team is playing the ball, opposing players must keep retreating the necessary distance. They may not take part in the game until they have done so.

If it is taken so quickly that opponents have no opportunity to retreat, they will not be sanctioned for this. However, they may not take part in the game until they have retreated 10 metres from the mark or until a team-mate who was 10 metres from the mark has moved in front of them.

The opposing team may not do anything to delay the kick or obstruct the kicker, including intentionally taking, throwing or kicking the ball out of reach of the team awarded the penalty.

Bordeaux away could get messy.

Disappointing performance although not unexpected given how we have been playing. Scrum a major issue but otherwise we just looked underpowered. Also doesn’t help when your 10 drops 3 absolute clangers in the first half.

Given the distance Wiesse travelled I thought Maro was a bit unlucky to get the yellow but probably didnt make any difference. We never looked like scoring in the second half.

It was all very well for Healey to count through Wiesse's paces and make it more than 10 metres that he covered, but he was going obliquely!

Maro didn't retreat far enough and there wasn't a team mate moving forwards to put him onside. Often the scrum half hares back when there's a chance of a quick penalty and then advances. We were caught napping, but we had been put so much on the back foot that it was hard to be ready.

Too many things like that went wrong and we couldn't take our chances. But Tigers' handling was poor, so we can't complain too much. At least we didn't lose from 26 - 0 up after 20 minutes!

Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade

🌻🌻🌻

Looking more and more like a transition season. Vunipolae and OF probably gone.
I hope we can keep Cinti and Gonzalez but we need a prop or 2 and a good 10 to replace OF
We can make the playoffs (with a good run post 6N) but I can’t see us getting far in Europe nor to a Prem final this year. Had to come eventually, key is how we rebuild. Will be interesting to watch as we still have a lot of great players

On the positive side we generally handled Wiese well, Parton and Roti did well and Daley looked class. There were glimpses were weren’t far off, but we lack a heavy duty ball carrier.
Willis and Mawi particularly can’t come back soon enough. It was always going to be a massive ask of Crean to step up from Ampthill to Tigers away.
Really sorry for Kapelli, waited months for a chance and injured in 5 minutes.

Quote:

The Bard
Really sorry for Kapelli, waited months for a chance and injured in 5 minutes.

Agree. That's really unfortunate for the big lad. Also hope the others who took knocks are ok. Steward played on but looked uncomfortable after the collision with Cinti (which I felt we were lucky not to be penalised for)

Quote:

The Bard
On the positive side we generally handled Wiese well, Parton and Roti did well and Daly looked class. There were glimpses were weren’t far off, but we lack a heavy duty ball carrier

Agree on Weise the problem was he wasn't their only heavy carrier! Kata had a good game too.
Daly had a very good game. Beautifully played in attack for the try and holding up Kelly was exceptional.
Obviously it is great to have heavy duty carriers and I agree that it will help hugely when they return but we seem determined to play as if we have them rather than embracing that we have a lighter, athletic backrow and playing to space.

For me there were a few pivotal Sarries moments. Farrells poor throw for the interception (imagine if Manu had done that) Dan going for the line and getting isolated (he has form for that and needs to think in terms of support if he doesn't make it) and McFarland straightening the line when we had a 5 on 3 overlap. All those were things in our control rather than the referees.

I felt like Sarries did a lot right but ultimately I was left with the same feeling as against Bath and Saints that we just need to play a bit more ball-in-hand. We have both the backs and the forwards for it (if not the dominant platform) but yet again we are seemingly happier to play without the ball and continue to kick away good possession just outside the opposition 22 when we had a fast back kicking and a fast back outside them. Is it really a better % play to kick away rather than attack the line especially with players like Segun, Cinti, Daly etc? We had genuine pace up against two of the slower backs in the league in Brown and Steward but we never tested them.

Not sure there is an answer to playing behind a struggling scrum but I think Healey was spot on that it probably involves "playing" a bit more.

AP agree with that. I do think Tigers handling was poor under pressure rather than in isolation and we can certainly credit the team with that.

Congrats to Tigers 🐅 on the win, we were always going to get hosed in the scrum but hopefully when we get some players back we will look like a different animal.
I love Owen and hopefully we make the playoffs but he deserves the chance to play in another competition and make more money. I agree with the previous comments hopefully we can now keep JMG and his compatriot if Faz leaving opens up a bit more money. But the problem is finding another 10 like him isn't going to be cheap but I like the idea of Loz at 10. I think he played there for Wasps on a few occasions.
I think we kicked far too much and should have kept it in hand a bit more and made them tackle a hell of a lot more. Ben was unlucky a few times being on the ball and the ref taking an age to award him for the turnovers and a few in at the side. But that's rugby and hopefully we make the playoffs.

If Owen leaves we still have Loz and Goode. The priority needs to be props imo.

Supporting Saracens for over 55 years.

Agree with the comments above but obviously IF Farrell goes that is a Marque spot rather than just extra cap cash. Ofc if Maro steps into the Marquee spot that's potentially £400K towards other players if that is the salary he was going to get? who knows?

A disgusting click bait original headline from a sub editor and some of the rugby journalists could do better in the Main stream media reports on the game blaming Faz for the loss!😡

Guardian/Observer started with a headline of

“ Owen Farrell blunders help Leicester edge to victory against Saracens”

But has now changed it after a social media backlash.
[www.theguardian.com]

But still some insensitive comments considering the situation!

“ Not content with stepping away from England …”

“Farrell, though, proved far more generous barely 10 minutes into the match. His pass, straight from a scrum, was easily intercepted by Dan Kelly”

“His sliced clearance outside the 22 set up Leicester’s position just before the break. “

It’s almost like there wasn’t 45 other players involved, nobody has ever thrown an intercept pass or sliced a kick before & Faz was packing down in the scrums to give away 4 scrum penalties and involved at every breakdown! Also no mention that an Onfield try was ruled out after TMO review!

The headline in the Independent is slightly better but the report is still insensitive

[www.independent.co.uk]

“ Errors by the 32-year-old contributed to two of Leicester’s three tries”

No wonder he his considering a move to 🇫🇷!

Similar in The Times today. Certainly, there were some errors by Faz but frankly, our scrum is a major weak spot as is our discipline - our penalty count is huge these days. Maro being binned did not help one bit either.
On the matter of Faz leaving - we will be worse off for his departure IMHO but I can't blame him. The media and general so called rugby fans have made his life really very unpleasant (did you note the wry smile & head shake as he came out of the tunnel at the beginning of the match? We assumed something unpleasant was being said by so called fans as he ran out). I must confess I am very disillusioned with rugby at the moment and find my joy in the game fading away.

The only thing I'd bear in mind is that the article writers and the headline writers are rarely the same person. It's a poor reflection on our press but the headline is often something sensationalist to grab attention and get clicks.
Also whilst Sarries had a number of fairly significant issues dealing with Tigers yesterday it is fair enough comment, in my view, to point out that some poor play from Farrell was instrumental in giving them both a Try and a platform for one. Equally he played some great rugby and those reports seem to mention that too. His communication with Pearce was good too as was the teams and that was one of the positives from the game.

Playing devil's advocate slightly, we do need to be a little careful. Being critical of someone's performance is perfectly reasonable.

Undeniable it was a big of a mixed bag game for Owen, some sublime work at times, but its simply a statement of fact that he directly gifted one try and significantly contributed to the platform for another.

I had said elsewhere a few weeks ago that for all Owen's fantastic marshalling of matches this season he has also made several big errors (e.g. charged down kicks, missed tackles) which have led to points against. It is, probably understandably, a strange season for him - at times his kicking off the tee hasn't been great either.

Seems it could be a vicious circle, the scrutiny leading to some doubt in decision making and a mistake, which only leads to more scrutiny etc.
Going somewhere else for a break and a reset may be the best thing he could do, as sad as it would be for us.

Quote:

MonaghanBoy
....and IVZ seems to be struggling a bit this season.

IVZ really thrived last season, and was able to develop a fast game based on quick recycling of the ball at the breakdown. If I recall we had the fastest recycling stats in the league - well under 2 seconds at times which is pretty unplayable. We seem to have lost the ability to recycle that quickly and it has undermined a key plank of his game

OM,
Yes understand the Headline writers are the ones looking for Click bait!

Quote:

TigerSimon
A disgusting click bait original headline from a sub editor…

VillageSarrie
Not sure about the start of the game but I did read that when Faz was taking a place kick near the Crumbie Terrace there was light hearted banter counting down in French of the shot clock and renditions of La Marseillaise etc from the crowd, after the successful kick Faz turned to the terrace and smiled.

BartyII
Absolutely they have to be mentioned, but Faz wasn’t the only one to make mistakes! Scrums, penalty count etc. Wouldn’t expect any better from the headline writer but do think the rugby journalists could have been more sensitive, because the social media muppets will jump on the bandwagon and escalate, but that doesn’t get clicks or sell newspapers!

Quote:

Going somewhere else for a break and a reset may be the best thing he could do

Agree but would be a loss to the Premiership and such a shame that abuse has partially caused it.

One of the lovely scenes of the day was post match of Faz with the child who had drawn the Don’t go sign.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:01:07:09:15:54 by tigersimon.

Headline seems pretty accurate to me and as Farrell was the highest profile player on the pitch not surprising that he gets mentioned. Otherwise it seems as though the article was balanced so I really don’t see an issue. Farrell also doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would spend much time on social media so I am sure he can cope. Ultimately it looks as though his ability and profile is going to lead to a big money move to France so he will have the last laugh.

Quote:

tigersimon
BartyII
Absolutely they have to be mentioned, but Faz wasn’t the only one to make mistakes! Scrums, penalty count etc.

I don't disagree. But to a point it does come with the territory if you're one of these:
- a fly half
- a captain
- a marquee player / international
...you see where I'm going with that.

In a way its similar to being a goalkeeper in football. Your team could be playing dreadfully for 90 minutes but if you drop a clanger then its you that's the headline and on the highlights reel. Not entirely fair at all but to some extent understandable.

It's also the 'curse' of a player who has been at such a high standard for a long time that when they have an off moment its more obvious. I'll admit I have a very similar filter with Theo McFarland - because of how he took the place by storm when he first arrived, when he has a solid 7/10 game without doing anything flash my immediate thought is that he's been quiet, when in reality he's probably played as well as anyone else.

Agree re McFarland Barty. We now have a roster of backrowers; Earl, McFarland, Christie, JMG, T Willis all of whom can do incredible things. In ones mind I think we imagine what we'd be like if they all had incredible games at the same time but it doesn't really work like that. Inevitably for some to shine others will be doing the grunt work.

A really good barometer for how well we play these days is how involved Tompkins is. The more he is involved the better we seem to do. I appreciate that's a bit chicken and egg but it "feels" right even-so.

I kind of disagree re IVZ. I think he is one of our most consistent players and he's been playing with an awful lot of poor ball. I also think his contribution outside his basics is off the charts. The number of times he creates a break or try or stops one seems pretty significant to me.

On a last note how satisfying was it to hear George call the Reffell break and see it happen. A future in coaching? or will he be concentrating on his physio business after rugby?

As a Tigers fan I find it unacceptable if things are said to opposition players as they exit the tunnel unless it is good natured banter. So Farrell made a couple of mistakes so what everyone does. It was Sarries discipline that cost them the game. You had a number of players missing up front and we had most of our back line missing although TNT disregarded this. Really enjoyed the game as you must when you beat Saracens which shows how much you are respected as a team. Also really like McCall as he is always level headed and never disrespects the opposition. Hope we both reach the play offs but it will be tight.

Quote:

Stopsy
With regard to Maro’s yellow card, it was because he tackled Wiese having not retreated behind his goal line.
Healey was wrong, plain and simple.

OPPOSING TEAM AT A PENALTY OR FREE-KICK

When a penalty or free-kick is awarded, the opposing team must immediately retreat 10 metres towards their own goal line or until they have reached their goal line if that is closer.

Even if the penalty or free-kick is taken quickly and the kicker’s team is playing the ball, opposing players must keep retreating the necessary distance. They may not take part in the game until they have done so.

If it is taken so quickly that opponents have no opportunity to retreat, they will not be sanctioned for this. However, they may not take part in the game until they have retreated 10 metres from the mark or until a team-mate who was 10 metres from the mark has moved in front of them.

The opposing team may not do anything to delay the kick or obstruct the kicker, including intentionally taking, throwing or kicking the ball out of reach of the team awarded the penalty.

Stopsy, unfortunately rugby is never quite as simple as one rule. You are right that all those players less than 10 yards away or not behind the goal line are offside. But there is a separate law that says once a player has advanced 5 yards then defensive players are played onside and can then advance and tackle the player. Some call it the Dupont loophole as he uses it all the time during periods of kick tennis . So it is a simple example of Pearce simply not knowing the laws. Healey was right which is not a sentence I have ever written before! Thus, what Itoje did was quite legal within the laws of the game and should never been a penalty let alone a yellow card!

If my memory serves me right wasn’t it Pearce that refereed Wales vs Fiji in what was the worst refereeing performance of the whole World Cup by a country mile? He really is not very consistent or accurate in his breakdown decisions,

That's interesting COYS I didn't know that although they referred to that ploy during the interminable kick-tennis in the Bath/Glaws game. Does it apply everywhere then? It's not just from kicks?

I appreciate that there were things that were missed for both sides but one that grates a touch was Browns turnover on their line. He's never legal and as he'd just given away an incredibly cynical penalty near the line about 60 seconds earlier a yellow card wouldn't have been a stretch. Instead Pearce gave him a turnover



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:01:08:15:24:16 by OldMarovian.

Quote:

CoS
So it is a simple example of Pearce simply not knowing the laws.

Oh dear! I usually manage to stay out of Laws debates since I've not read them fully for over 30 years and am aware that I don't see guidance/interpretation advice, but when one of our best referees receives abuse such as this I feel the need to correct. I'd suggest you read Law 20.13, unchanged since my day.

You are confusing offside from a punt (open play) with offside from a penalty. Although even with the former the laws allow a referee to penalise players who stand still rather than retreat - 10.4c, though perhaps guidance states otherwise as few (none?) do.

Itoje was correctly carded. The only question should be was it a penalty try?

Yeah, it's an interesting one because 20.12 20.13 and 20.14 seem pretty clear on their own! [www.world.rugby] and I'm not entirely sure that 10.7 does apply in that circumstance [www.world.rugby] unless I'm reading this wrong it would actually be a good one for a law clarification because I certainly hadn't fully understood the implications of all of law 20.

(fwiw I think the referee certainly made the correct call in giving a penalty in this case and I'm in favour of more yellow cards for cynical play so I wasn't that het up about it at the time)

Quote:

OldMarovian
That's interesting COYS I didn't know that although they referred to that ploy during the interminable kick-tennis in the Bath/Glaws game. Does it apply everywhere then? It's not just from kicks?
I appreciate that there were things that were missed for both sides but one that grates a touch was Browns turnover on their line. He's never legal and as he'd just given away an incredibly cynical penalty near the line about 60 seconds earlier a yellow card wouldn't have been a stretch. Instead Pearce gave him a turnover

Was it an apple one?....................I do like an apple turnover....................................

Quote:

nedrichards
Yeah, it's an interesting one because 20.12 20.13 and 20.14 seem pretty clear on their own! [www.world.rugby] and I'm not entirely sure that 10.7 does apply in that circumstance [www.world.rugby] unless I'm reading this wrong it would actually be a good one for a law clarification because I certainly hadn't fully understood the implications of all of law 20.
(fwiw I think the referee certainly made the correct call in giving a penalty in this case and I'm in favour of more yellow cards for cynical play so I wasn't that het up about it at the time)

Fairly clear in that there is a distinction between open play offside, law 10, & offside at a penalty, law 20.

It should have been a raspberry one tigersimon

It was Carley who reffed Wales v Fiji, not Pearce.
The decision I absolutely hate is when refs randomly give obstruction at an attacking lineout even though the offence was regularly being committed before and afterwards. It just looks like vindictiveness.

My interpretation is that the 5m ball carrier is for open play and not penalties. I could well be wrong, it did happen once before 😊

Quote:

The Bard
The decision I absolutely hate is when refs randomly give obstruction at an attacking lineout even though the offence was regularly being committed before and afterwards.

Its one of those where you definitely feel they either need to referee it the entire game or not at all. The same as the once in a blue moon a crooked feed to the scrum gets called up.

[quote The Bard]It was Carley who reffed Wales v Fiji, not Pearce.

Thank you. It would appear I owe Mr Pearce two apologies (one for mixing him up in my memory with Mr Carley!) and the other for believing Mr Healey - I really should have known better!