Ben O'Keefe was booed before the World Cup semi-finals even started. Photo: Getty Images/Thomas Samson
If There's one thing we should all take away from this World Cup: Judges are human. These are decent guys who love the game and want to make the right decisions.
Without referees there is no game. Just like that one. They face a difficult job and increasing scrutiny, and the influence of technology and social media often puts them in almost impossible situations.
There have been many cases where our coaching team was unhappy with decisions after games and then spoke with the referee, and he, after watching the replay, said that he saw it wrong.
It’s not so. lesson for everyone to just focus on how they play. The two calmest guys at the World Cup are Wayne Barnes and Jaco Paper because they have the experience to handle pressure.
On Saturday night I felt for Ben O'Keffi. He is a young man who is gaining experience and given that he came under fire for his refereeing in France's defeat to South Africa, with Antoine Dupont saying he was not up to the challenge, it was tough to see him booed at the Stade de France. even before the match begins.
«Referees want to make the right decisions»
Ben is a good guy. He took the second test during our 2021 Lions tour of South Africa. This happened just after a video of Rassie Erasmus was leaked on social media criticizing the umpiring of our victory in the first Test in Cape Town.
I have no doubt that he was influenced by this. I remember speaking to him after the second Test to discuss his handling of Cheslin Kolbe's tackle on Conor Murray. I told him that it bothered me that, having gone through a process involving the assistant referees and the match official, it was decided that he had landed on his back and not his front.
Conor didn't fall on his back; he fell flat on his face and said he just misunderstood the labels. My response was simply, «Oh, okay.»
That's one of the reasons why I'm so glad World Rugby introduced the bunker check system, because decisions like this can be made without long breaks in play and the referee being under scrutiny and pressure, with the crowd reacting to replays on the stadium's big screens. This also speeds up the game.
Referees want to make the right decisions, they don't want to be unpopular or criticized.
When the video leaked after the first Lions Test, I listened to the conversation during the game and heard Ben asking Springbok captain Siya Kolisi if he was okay at least four or five times.
I I've never heard that before in a Test match. For me, this was a direct result of the pressure he was under due to the video released after the first test. I think he was shocked by it all.
I think he and his associate referees were hesitant to make decisions and that is just human nature and proof of the pressure they are under. Refereeing is such a hard job.
I love it when we coaches have the opportunity to have a beer with the referees after the game because it makes me realize how hard the job is.< /p>
There were a few decisions we were unhappy with in the quarter-final defeat to Argentina. But you know what, we created opportunities in the game that we weren't able to realize. Dan Biggar had a penalty which he usually took and we had a couple of opportunities that we should have scored. We could easily blame the referee for our defeat. But they are trying to draw the right conclusions from the pictures they see.
What about us coaches? Or the players? It's easy to blame the referee for one decision or one mistake, but the truth is that each side has 80 minutes to win the game. It's easy to criticize a judge.
What we don't want is for the sport to move closer to football, where almost every controversial decision is contested and after a big game the only narrative is about VAR.
«I was rooting for England»
Ultimately, England. I'm sure I'll look at the refereeing decisions in the final quarter when South Africa won the encounter on penalties to give them the opportunity to win the game.
It may surprise some people, but I was rooting for England. to win the game. I spent some wonderful years coaching Wasps in London and made a lot of great friends during our time there.
I have also had the privilege of coaching a number of England internationals at the Lions. They always seemed like wonderful tourists to me. Pleasant to deal with and good company. They always have something to say about themselves and make an effort. I know it's tough for them sometimes, but for me that's the thing about rugby: when you meet and work with good people, you want them to succeed, whatever their achievements may be. nationality.
That's what I've experienced with the England players and I know they've had a tough time this year and Steve Borthwick has been under a lot of pressure.
But I thought that England had perfected their tactics against the Springboks. They canceled out their blitz defense with some brilliant kicking and I was very impressed with Alex Mitchell.
England should be proud of what they have achieved. They faced a great South African team and were on the verge of reaching the final. And as someone who has been there before, I know what an achievement it is.
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