Pants – I just lost this whole post! Not amused!!
Summary:
1) Dave Pearson was wrong to recommend a Yellow Card in the Ire v Wales game. Should clearly have been a Red card and, having worked with Dave before and know what an honest guy he is, I’m sure his review will have come to the same conclusion.
2) Steve Walsh has some fans – lots of people landed here yesterday after searching for him and his marital status!
3) Wales deserved the win yesterday although fairly pants game (I was sitting in the North Stand). Thought SW had a good game form where I was sitting, although not sure why he didn’t go back for the penalty he was playing advantage from when the TMO rules no try. Maybe he just forgot, but in any case, based on previous 79 mins, I doubt they’d have done anything productive with the ball. After all, that would only have created the opportunity for a draw, not an Eng win!
4) Wales, by the skipper’s admission, will have to play better than that when we beat France in a few weeks time. I have a £5 bet on Wales to win the 6 Nations so they better had!!
5) Im going to enjoy me week, especially as my sidekick from work was there supporting the losing side! Ha!
…and Walsh’s failure to award a penalty try and yellow card when North deliberately knocked the ball into touch a yard from his own line??
From where I was (and with only 1 replay on big screen) it looked like Strettle got their first – remember being annoyed that AR got throw in the wrong way.
Either way, I guess my point is, in real time it definitely wasn’t clear and obvious, and a Pen Try – only in the rosiest of rose tinted glasses!! 😉
Well the ex-Scotland international with whom I work agrees it wad a PT so not just rose tinted. It was clear from tv what North did; putting aside whether you agree that it was deliberate, would you agree that if it was then it should have been yellow and PT?
As an aside, I also thought Walsh got no assistance from his TJs (refuse to use the team AR!) all game, especially at scrum time.
Penalty try – what nonsense. North would have to have prevented a clear try scoring chance, which he did not. While you are bleating about cards, I note no outrage at Robshaw not being shown yellow (or worse) for trying to wreck Sam Warburton’s spine with mid air drop tackles? Given that that incident could have caused serious injury, that seems the worse of the two…
Not a clear scoring opportunity? A yard from the line when all Strettle would have had to do was catch it anf fall over? Are you sure? Scotland would probably have found a way to blow it admittedly but come on…
Yes, pretty sure not a clear scoring opportunity. North always had the ball covered, and was infront of Strettle the whole time. For it to have been a definite try scoring chance, Strettle would at least have to have been infront of North, and North to slap it out of Strettle’s grasp. As it was, North was in control, he made a daft call, but he was still in control. For a clear scoring chance as well, arguable North being there offered a pretty good defensive option, do you really think Strettle would have magically powered past North even if he did get to the ball first…a think a revisit to the rules for you on this one.
Interesting that no mention is made again of Robshaw…
It doesn’t matter if North was in front it not. Look at it another way, if Strettle was high tackled a yard from the line by a man in front of him that would be a PT – the fact that the man ‘could’ have tackled him legally wouldn’t matter. By batting the ball away illegally North effectively takes himself out of the picture as a defender.
As for Robshaw, I agree it should have been yellow. I didn’t comment as it was a non sequitur to the point under discussion. I do love the irony of mentioning Warburton and spine wrecking challenges in the same sentence though.
No irony in it at all, except that one such incident generated a just punishment, the other did not. It is relevant to the broader tranch of discussions, because the topic is shortcomings in the officials handling of situations.
Your logic is still flawed though, especially because you are using a completely different set of circumstances to make your case, akin to saying, well, if North had shot Strettle with a crossbow from the other side of the field, it should have been a penalty try… ‘Could haves’ are not up for debate, certainties are. Okay, let’s say there was a high tackle in the act of crossing the line that stopped the player from scoring, okay, fine. However, Strettle was no where near an act of scoring, North got to the ball first, that removes the prospect of a clear score straight off. What North did with the ball was after the event, Strettle missed his ‘clear chance’ by not getting to the ball first. Your rationale would see a penalty try given for every single collapsed scrum within ten meters of a tryline, because someone ‘might’ have scored. The ruling relates to definites, this was far from.
We’ll have to agree to disagree I think.
So it would seem.
Now kids – play nicely!! 😉
‘e started it sir! But come on – your view?
I have my view to your original question – wasn’t clear at all so no PT.
Boo!