A spear tackle is deliberately driving a players head into the floor, which as the watching world has seen has not happened. The player needs to be held / driven into the floor head first and all the world could see that there was no controlling factor from 2 feet up and he landed on his back. There is a bigger law involved in this and it's called Newton's Law of motion . A fantastic hit by a great player. Get real as your not getting a bigger rise from me or the rest of the watching world.....that is unless you want to watch touch rugby instead. Please do not give this poster any more responses as he is obviously looking for a bite and is not a sport fan. I suspect you either are anti-Welsh, French or are Alain Rolland. Jog off little boy.
What, the Matt Dawson the radio rugby journalist 'phone in' controller on radio 5 who needs to make sure he has a debate on his next show! If you are interested, I suggest you listen to his show and see that he will not have much support.
No offence to my Aussie friends....good luck to the Kiwi's tomorrow as I now believe the God's are shining on you after the earthquake, and your country really needs and deserves it. Thanks for a fantastic tournament Wales to beat the Ozzies in the play off...... let's have it Musty!
I don't feel bad, I am bursting with pride for my country. Not bitter or anything but I think I would be even more proud if I came from Tonga
Important anouncement! Quaid Cooper has been officially declared as a contestant for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing! You heard it here first!
Hard luck on the Welsh... it was almost like watching a rerun of the SA vs Aus game. You were dominant but unable to score the points. A thoroughly undeserved victory for the French. Just like Australia. From a gutted Bok supporter.
In 2007, the IRB Council approved a Laws Designated Members Ruling which essentially made it clear that tackles involving a player being lifted off the ground and tipped horizontally and were then either forced or dropped to the ground are illegal and constitute dangerous play. At a subsequent IRB High Performance Referee Seminar at Lensbury referees were advised that for these types of tackles they were to start at red card as a sanction and work backwards. Unfortunately these types of tackles are still being made and the purpose of this memorandum is to emphasize that they must be dealt with severely by referees and all those involved in the off-field disciplinary process. Attached is a recent decision of the Judicial Officer Jannie Lubbe SC, in which the differences between the application of the red card test by referees and judicial personnel is highlighted. In our view, this decision correctly highlights that the lifting of players in the tackle and then either forcing or dropping them to the ground is dangerous and must be dealt with severely. To summarise, the possible scenarios when a tackler horizontally lifts a player off the ground: 1 The player is lifted and then forced or “speared” into the ground. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle. 2 The lifted player is dropped to the ground from a height with no regard to the player’s safety. A red card should be issued for this type of tackle. 3 For all other types of dangerous lifting tackles, it may be considered a penalty or yellow card is sufficient. I think most people (apart from wums) will realise neither 1 or 2 have happened. However it is open to interpretation. Shame, but we move on. Well played my Welsh brothers.
I think Wales go away from this tournament with heads held high, the respect of every other country and, most importantly, their future looking far better than any other country. I would guess they will be a real force to be reckoned with by 2015, and with the tournament being fairly 'local', Twickenham will be the place to be if you're Welsh on Final day...
The ref has just gifted the cup to either aust or nz. This french team is abysmal. Wales definitely one of the stand out teams of the tournament. Such a shame, but that's rugby....a game where the best team doesn't necessarily win.
Covering the game for ITV, South Africa's former world-cup winning captain Francois Pienaar said: "It was a dangerous tackle, yes. A penalty, yes. Never a red card. "Sam Warburton has been one of the cleanest players at the World Cup. He (Rolland) has killed the game. I'm livid. "It is dangerous, but this is a World Cup semi-final with all the world watching. You have all the technology at your disposal, why not go to the video referee or ask your touch judge?" Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio added: "Alain Rolland has refereed all over the world and did the last final. He is supposed to be one of the best referees in the world...." - The Independent Some were concerned regarding the choice of this Irish come French referee before the game, and it's obvious that those fears were well founded, shame that you can't get integrity in the sport at such a high level, and the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, but we need to move on, and hope the next time we won't be playing against 16! Well done Wales....................... please log in to view this image
Swimaway, Yes, my worst fears were realised. Any referee with common-sense would have read beyond the letter of the law but Rolland was only too happy to grab the opportunity to emasculate Wales. I could go on and on about Rolland but I shall resist the temptation and content myself with the observation that today he earned my undying contempt and disgust. I will not be alone in that view and neither will that view be restricted to we Welsh. Warburton's tackle undoubtedly deserved yellow but it was still a great hit. As you said, swimaway, it was not a deliberate spear tackle. He lost control of the player who dropped to the floor. I emphasise DROPPED, not driven. If this sort of tackle is going to be red carded then rugby will become a non-contact sport. Going by the LETTER of the law, the tackle would have been deemed worthy of red. However, that is not the point at issue. As Brian Moore (no lover of Welsh rugby) commented, far worse tackles have already been committed in this World Cup with no sign of red. The problem lies in the individual interpretation of the referee involved. Rolland was given the option and he grabbed it with both hands, in my opinion to his eternal shame. Why did he not take a little time to consider the situation, the occasion? It is being mooted that the decision came from the line official. Nonetheless, it was his final decision to make and, given the pre-match feedback I received from more streetwise rugby fans, I suspect it was made with an inner smirk. Today yet another game has been decided by the referee. It does the game no credit. France were held and then driven back by a team that had played a large chunk of the game with only 14 men who also managed to score the only try of the game. In a phrase they do not deserve to grace a World Cup Final. That they now will is down to.................. I leave you to supply the reason. As for the IRB, or whatever initials they are known by (I could make some suggestions), whatever were they thinking of by allowing this man to take charge? The appointment was a disgrace but, imo, they are an arrogant bunch who will just shrug the whole thing off as........ interpretation. I feel so sorry for this Welsh team; they have worked so hard to get to the final only to find it stolen from them and, as young as this team is, there are those for whom this was their last chance. That they have been denied what they deserved, imo, is one man's shame. In conclusion, for those who say we might not have won had Warburton not been so systematically removed from the action, I say don't be so *$!!#*# ridiculous!!
Let's get one thing right here! he's half Irish, and half French, he should never have been selected for this game, and if the man had an ounce of integrity would have taken himself out of refereeing for this game, shame you can't get integrity in sport anymore, so much fixing and corruption going on! Never mind Wales they could not have beaten you any other way, we move on, but the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.................. please log in to view this image
Sorry Phil.....Now my emotions have eased a little, I think blaming his integrity is going to far. As a Welshman I feel he refereed the game ok apart from a crazy 30 seconds in the fist quarter of a a game, which changed the whole World Cup. Mr Rolland had what we call a **** up . A very big **** up, but I believe human error nonetheless. He should be made acountable for it through the governing bodies, and I believe he will regret it. PS by made accountable I mean the little used IRB rule in section B, 8.2 of their guidlines , which states....... He should be made made to crawl through the Gurnos Estate, Merthyr at 10 pm shouting "I am Alain Rolland and I ****ed the World Cup up for Wales" If advertized correctly, I believe you would have a bigger turn out than the 65,000 at the millenium today! PS....as it was my idea, I get the hotdog stall rights.
I don't think so swim, how the hell can you have a Frenchman refereeing a French game!!!! Bloody disgusting if you ask me, and i'm being very restrained, so don't get me started, he was selected for a reason, and it shows the lack of integrity with the IRB too!............. please log in to view this image
It is with a heavy heart and a sense of irony, I now edit this joke I posted on the 10/10on this very thread............ Alain Rolland, the rugby referee, died and went to heaven. Stopped by St Peter at the gates he was told that only brave people who had performed heroic deeds and had the courage of their convictions could enter. If he could describe a situation in his life where he had shown these characteristics, he would be allowed in. "Well," said the ref, "Once, I was controlling a game between Wales and France in the World Cup semi-final. "Wales were three points ahead with just 18 minutes gone and playing very well, whilst France seemed to on the back foot. Maxime Medard of France made a break but was clattered by their inspirational captain Sam Warburton. The french players quickly surrounded the scene and in my father's tongue expressed themeselves in the only way they could. For a moment, I forgot I was neutral, that I had the support of my touch judges and also the TMO. In the heat of the moment I reached for a red card, blatently ignoring the recent IRB directive on dangerous tackles and the importance of such a decision in the game and the tournament as a whole. "Ok, that was fairly brave of you, but I will have to check it in the book," said Peter, before disappearing to look it up. When he came back he said: "Sorry, there's no record of this. Can you help me to trace it? When did all this happen?" The ref looked at his watch and replied: " One hour ago."
wales were robbed by a french referee, some on here said last week that we could find it tough with the ref with french parents in charge, i was not one of them but they were right, we were handicapped from the minute he was appointed ref, We played 14 against 16 for most of the game and on top of that we lost the corner stone of our scrum when Adam went off, hook was dreadful today as he missed some bog standard kicks that cost us, in the end we scored the only try and were the better team but when ts 14 Welshmen against 16 Frenchmen then the odds were against us, the one thing that puzzled a lot of us was why a northern hemisphere ref was in charge of two northern sides, t should have been reffed by a southern referee anyway and the NZ V Aus should have a northern ref, anyway the lads did wales proud and can hold their heads up high and to lose by one point after being the best side is heart breaking, I hope they finish on a high and grab 3rd spot.....
Just looked up in the Oxford English dictionary the meaning of the word Alain Rowlland and it means "Incompetent Man". He spoiled the game as a spectacle, but we did have enough chances to go and win the game. Gutted!!!!
we had enough chances yes but 14 v 16 is a hell of a handicap, the best team was robbed by a bias incompetent ref that should not have been in charge due to his french connection anyway, but your right we missed too many opportunities that could have put us out of sight even with a huge handicap....
