London Irish
What if...
By Griff
April 8 2010
Rugby Union is a complicated game, difficult for spectators to follow at times and almost impossible to referee. This is pretty-much accepted and often given as a reason for rugby's minor popularity. Often post-match discussion gravitates around the officiating, rarely, though, does the man-with-the-whistle affect the result.
I can only remember one match I've watched live when I felt the referee changed the result - our home match against Bath last season. Yesterday's match against Wasps probably had the correct result but the referee, Rob Debney, had a massive influence and, rather sadly, probably denied the 9,924 in the ground and the thousands watching at home a better spectacle. He also made a difference, in my opinion, to the league points won and lost which at this point of the season has an enormous impact on the final placings.
The game was played on a gorgeous spring day, the sun was shining, it was warmish and conditions favoured the running-rugby we all hoped both sides would attempt. Apart from a scattering of hail in the first half conditions stayed good but, with the recent heavy rain the Adams Park surface cut-up quite badly throughout the match.
From the start it was obvious both teams were going to have a go in the firmer conditions. The kick-off was dealt with securely by Irish and then each side in-turn tried to make progress. At 3 minutes the most contentious decision of the game came from Mr Debney.
While spinning the ball wide Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson dinked a beautiful kick through the Irish defence and David Lemi sprinted after it. The winger only had to outpace Steffon Armitage to score but even Lemi's pace couldn't get him away from the flanker. Lemi chipped-on and chased, Steffon's foot seemed to catch Lemi and he went down, grabbing the Wasp on the way down. The chip forward, in my opinion was way too hard for Lemi to catch and the ball would've gone dead. Had Armitage not tripped he'd have left well alone and it would've been an Irish scrum back just inside the 22m. The touch-judge agreed with my opinion of the kick, Will Greenwood on the Sky commentary agreed with me, a lovely lady Wasps supporter on the way out agreed with me (although she thought it was still a penalty try). I think most people who've seen it agree Lemi wasn't getting anyway near the ball once he'd kicked it. Rob Debney gave a penalty try. He also yellow-carded Steffon.
If Steffon didn't trip he definitely deserved the card, even with the trip it's understandable that he took Lemi out off the ball and deserved the card. Whatever happened it was a definite penalty. It was never, ever, in a million years a penalty try and I have no idea how Rob Debney thought it was. For anyone unsure the law states "If a player would probably have scored a try but for foul play by an opponent, a penalty try is awarded between the goal posts.", Mr Debney had to think Lemi was going to catch that ball up. He was, so far as I could tell, the only one...
Now, three minutes into the game Irish were 7 points down (Dave Walder made the kick), a man down on the pitch and, to all intents and purposes, out of it. "Sir", as Mr Rowden told the LISC at a "Meet the Ref" evening, is part of the entertainment process. Mr Debney owes just over 9,000 people some of their money back as he killed the game with that crass decision.
To their credit Irish didn't give-up and play continued to be open and end-to-end. Irish manging to make it into Wasps half only to have the home-side run back at them in some quite scintillating passages of play. At a lineout just inside the Irish half Bob Casey pulled Dan Ward-Smith down and Walder kicked the ensuing penalty.
Wasps hadn't given-up there either, they put together even more flowing rugby during which Dave Walder was struck by a Chris Hala'ufia challenge that was both high and late (and for which he's now been cited). Walder never really recovered although he stayed on for a while after medical attention.
It was now all Wasps with many cutting thrusts into Irish territory, Joe Simpson especially making yards. On one such run Ryan Lamb tackled the scrum-half and was adjudged not to roll-away and Walder took the points.
The larger Armitage returned and the game became more even, perhaps even turning the other way. Steffon himself making many of the yards, the Exiles were soon deep into Wasps territory after phase-on-phase of pressure Seilala Mapusua crossed the whitewash for a forwards' try bringing a little hope to the visiting support. Ryan Lamb converted it too. Game on.
The home side hadn't gone away, though but their attack was thwarted by Irish and the ball returned on-the-hoof. A cracking break including a fantastic Hala'ufia out-pacing of Joe Worsley was killed prematurely when Wasps inside-centre Steve Kefu killed the ball. Now, I won't re-interate the penalty try law but in between this chance and the Lemi chase I know which one I think was "probably" going to score... Kefu was, at least, sin-binned, and Lamb took the points.
Despite the man difference Wasps struck back almost immediately. Dom Waldouck made a superb break through the centre before delivering an inch-perfect chip through for Tom Varndell to collect and evade a despairing last-gasp tackle from Delon Armitage to score wide on the right. It was very wide, though and Walder missed the conversion.
The teams had each other's measure now and defences tightened but it didn't stop the end-to-end break-away's keeping everyone entertained. During this period Dave Walder took a further knock and left the field to be replaced by Danny Cipriani. The aussie-bound fly-half didn't change much and Wasps ended the half with a try made by Joe Simpson at the back of a Wasps scrum feeding Van Gisbergen and on to Ward-Smith for a try. Cipriani missed a virtually identical kick to the one Walder had missed earlier and the half ended Wasps 23 - 10 London Irish.
The second half was much quieter than the first. Initially play was fairly even, centred in the middle of the field with neither side making an impact. Irish slowly turned the screw and looked to be getting the better of the play when Wasps broke-away. Irish had taken an age to set-up a pick and drive at the back of a ruck. The pass was, almost inevitably, dropped and Wasps seized on it feeding the ball out to Cipriani who broke the scrambling defence to feed inside to Waldouck to score the Wasps' (and Mr Debney's) bonus point try. It was also an easy conversion for Cipriani.
You could easily have forgiven Irish simply giving-up at this point but, far from it, the visitor immediately took the fight back to Wasps gaining territory and keeping the ball. Phase-after-phase drove towards the try-line and eventually the pressure told with Steffon Armitage getting his just deserts driving through Joe Worsely (celebrating his 200th appearance for Wasps) to score. Lamb missed a kick from almost the same spot that both Walder and Cipriani already had.
Neither side were ready to call it a day yet and play went back and forth with the sort of running rugby the Guinness Premiership has been crying-out for over the winter months. Both sides had chances, Irish nearly scored when Seviali'i fed Hewat who returned the ball to Elvis just forward as the pair bisected the Wasps defensive line.
After a raft of replacements on both sides, two of Irish's newcomers combined to to create a third try. Jamie Gibson charged-down a Warren Fury box-kick for a charging James Tideswell to gather in-goal. A further substitute, Tom Homer, took-over kicking duties and collected the extras.
The final points of the game were Cipriani's. A high-tackle by Hewat as Wasps challenged for the line was given by Mr Debney. He brought the kick in by 15m for some reason known only to him - if anyone knows why (and you're included in this invitation Rob) I'd love to know. Danny C put the kick over.
Irish played the last 5 minutes trying desperately to collect their 4th try which would've gained 2 bonus points (one for within 7 and one for the 4 tries) but they weren't quite up to it. It was pretty-close at times, though. The game finished Wasps 33 - 22 London Irish.
The game was lost by the lack of sharpness from Irish. There were far too many knock-ons and possession lost on the deck. The epitome of this was the ruck set-up which ended-up giving Waldouck the BP try. Irish had all the time in the world to twiddle and set things up but when the ball came from Hodgson the pass was dropped, There were many occasions like this and Wasps were not in the mood (or the form) to leave such trangressions unpunished.
So, the man with the whistle, didn't affect this result. Except for the bonus point he gave to Wasps with the early penalty try. Who knows, without it maybe the home side would've kept fighting towards the end. Had he given the simlar decision at the other end for a more "probable" try Irish would've come away with 2 BPs. Either way that single point may haunt the Exiles at the end of a frustrating season. Without it the contest, which was scintillating, could've been absolutely electric.
And that was what I came away from the match feeling. "What if...". As I said in the intro; nobody would ever expect a referee to get everything right but I want to see the version of this match where it was close all the way through.
The game was played on a gorgeous spring day, the sun was shining, it was warmish and conditions favoured the running-rugby we all hoped both sides would attempt. Apart from a scattering of hail in the first half conditions stayed good but, with the recent heavy rain the Adams Park surface cut-up quite badly throughout the match.
From the start it was obvious both teams were going to have a go in the firmer conditions. The kick-off was dealt with securely by Irish and then each side in-turn tried to make progress. At 3 minutes the most contentious decision of the game came from Mr Debney.
While spinning the ball wide Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson dinked a beautiful kick through the Irish defence and David Lemi sprinted after it. The winger only had to outpace Steffon Armitage to score but even Lemi's pace couldn't get him away from the flanker. Lemi chipped-on and chased, Steffon's foot seemed to catch Lemi and he went down, grabbing the Wasp on the way down. The chip forward, in my opinion was way too hard for Lemi to catch and the ball would've gone dead. Had Armitage not tripped he'd have left well alone and it would've been an Irish scrum back just inside the 22m. The touch-judge agreed with my opinion of the kick, Will Greenwood on the Sky commentary agreed with me, a lovely lady Wasps supporter on the way out agreed with me (although she thought it was still a penalty try). I think most people who've seen it agree Lemi wasn't getting anyway near the ball once he'd kicked it. Rob Debney gave a penalty try. He also yellow-carded Steffon.
If Steffon didn't trip he definitely deserved the card, even with the trip it's understandable that he took Lemi out off the ball and deserved the card. Whatever happened it was a definite penalty. It was never, ever, in a million years a penalty try and I have no idea how Rob Debney thought it was. For anyone unsure the law states "If a player would probably have scored a try but for foul play by an opponent, a penalty try is awarded between the goal posts.", Mr Debney had to think Lemi was going to catch that ball up. He was, so far as I could tell, the only one...
Now, three minutes into the game Irish were 7 points down (Dave Walder made the kick), a man down on the pitch and, to all intents and purposes, out of it. "Sir", as Mr Rowden told the LISC at a "Meet the Ref" evening, is part of the entertainment process. Mr Debney owes just over 9,000 people some of their money back as he killed the game with that crass decision.
To their credit Irish didn't give-up and play continued to be open and end-to-end. Irish manging to make it into Wasps half only to have the home-side run back at them in some quite scintillating passages of play. At a lineout just inside the Irish half Bob Casey pulled Dan Ward-Smith down and Walder kicked the ensuing penalty.
Wasps hadn't given-up there either, they put together even more flowing rugby during which Dave Walder was struck by a Chris Hala'ufia challenge that was both high and late (and for which he's now been cited). Walder never really recovered although he stayed on for a while after medical attention.
It was now all Wasps with many cutting thrusts into Irish territory, Joe Simpson especially making yards. On one such run Ryan Lamb tackled the scrum-half and was adjudged not to roll-away and Walder took the points.
The larger Armitage returned and the game became more even, perhaps even turning the other way. Steffon himself making many of the yards, the Exiles were soon deep into Wasps territory after phase-on-phase of pressure Seilala Mapusua crossed the whitewash for a forwards' try bringing a little hope to the visiting support. Ryan Lamb converted it too. Game on.
The home side hadn't gone away, though but their attack was thwarted by Irish and the ball returned on-the-hoof. A cracking break including a fantastic Hala'ufia out-pacing of Joe Worsley was killed prematurely when Wasps inside-centre Steve Kefu killed the ball. Now, I won't re-interate the penalty try law but in between this chance and the Lemi chase I know which one I think was "probably" going to score... Kefu was, at least, sin-binned, and Lamb took the points.
Despite the man difference Wasps struck back almost immediately. Dom Waldouck made a superb break through the centre before delivering an inch-perfect chip through for Tom Varndell to collect and evade a despairing last-gasp tackle from Delon Armitage to score wide on the right. It was very wide, though and Walder missed the conversion.
The teams had each other's measure now and defences tightened but it didn't stop the end-to-end break-away's keeping everyone entertained. During this period Dave Walder took a further knock and left the field to be replaced by Danny Cipriani. The aussie-bound fly-half didn't change much and Wasps ended the half with a try made by Joe Simpson at the back of a Wasps scrum feeding Van Gisbergen and on to Ward-Smith for a try. Cipriani missed a virtually identical kick to the one Walder had missed earlier and the half ended Wasps 23 - 10 London Irish.
The second half was much quieter than the first. Initially play was fairly even, centred in the middle of the field with neither side making an impact. Irish slowly turned the screw and looked to be getting the better of the play when Wasps broke-away. Irish had taken an age to set-up a pick and drive at the back of a ruck. The pass was, almost inevitably, dropped and Wasps seized on it feeding the ball out to Cipriani who broke the scrambling defence to feed inside to Waldouck to score the Wasps' (and Mr Debney's) bonus point try. It was also an easy conversion for Cipriani.
You could easily have forgiven Irish simply giving-up at this point but, far from it, the visitor immediately took the fight back to Wasps gaining territory and keeping the ball. Phase-after-phase drove towards the try-line and eventually the pressure told with Steffon Armitage getting his just deserts driving through Joe Worsely (celebrating his 200th appearance for Wasps) to score. Lamb missed a kick from almost the same spot that both Walder and Cipriani already had.
Neither side were ready to call it a day yet and play went back and forth with the sort of running rugby the Guinness Premiership has been crying-out for over the winter months. Both sides had chances, Irish nearly scored when Seviali'i fed Hewat who returned the ball to Elvis just forward as the pair bisected the Wasps defensive line.
After a raft of replacements on both sides, two of Irish's newcomers combined to to create a third try. Jamie Gibson charged-down a Warren Fury box-kick for a charging James Tideswell to gather in-goal. A further substitute, Tom Homer, took-over kicking duties and collected the extras.
The final points of the game were Cipriani's. A high-tackle by Hewat as Wasps challenged for the line was given by Mr Debney. He brought the kick in by 15m for some reason known only to him - if anyone knows why (and you're included in this invitation Rob) I'd love to know. Danny C put the kick over.
Irish played the last 5 minutes trying desperately to collect their 4th try which would've gained 2 bonus points (one for within 7 and one for the 4 tries) but they weren't quite up to it. It was pretty-close at times, though. The game finished Wasps 33 - 22 London Irish.
The game was lost by the lack of sharpness from Irish. There were far too many knock-ons and possession lost on the deck. The epitome of this was the ruck set-up which ended-up giving Waldouck the BP try. Irish had all the time in the world to twiddle and set things up but when the ball came from Hodgson the pass was dropped, There were many occasions like this and Wasps were not in the mood (or the form) to leave such trangressions unpunished.
So, the man with the whistle, didn't affect this result. Except for the bonus point he gave to Wasps with the early penalty try. Who knows, without it maybe the home side would've kept fighting towards the end. Had he given the simlar decision at the other end for a more "probable" try Irish would've come away with 2 BPs. Either way that single point may haunt the Exiles at the end of a frustrating season. Without it the contest, which was scintillating, could've been absolutely electric.
And that was what I came away from the match feeling. "What if...". As I said in the intro; nobody would ever expect a referee to get everything right but I want to see the version of this match where it was close all the way through.
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Discussion started by The Craic www.londonirish.org , 08/04/2010 23:58
The Craic www.londonirish.org
08/04/2010 23:58
08/04/2010 23:58
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Thanks, Griff - good write up. But wasn't it Matt Garvey who charged down the kick for Tideswell to score? (That would make two "assists" in two games for Matt!)
If only we'd got that bonus point....
If only we'd got that bonus point....
Thanks Griff - much better than listening on-line.
MWM
LONDON IRISH - and loving it......
LET'S GO IRISH....LET'S GO IRISH
...........
MWM
LONDON IRISH - and loving it......
LET'S GO IRISH....LET'S GO IRISH
...........
ever thought of refereeing ? I think you might make a good one.
Good report - thanks
Good report - thanks
What a luxury to read this report and watch the highlights at the same time on the same screen! Many thanks for doing this for us, I know how much time and effort it takes.
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