Lesson there for all of us- anything can happen in sport so don't cry if it goes against you! Unbelievably close.
Hard for Scotland to take, but that's sport for you. A game can be decided by such small margins. Not sure what's happened to Australia, if they play like that against the Argies they'll be taken apart. Did they take Scotland for granted today? Who knows, but there gonna have to step it up a gear to make the final
I know this sounds harsh but Scotland bottled it.They had their own line out with two mins to go and end up giving a penalty away,that's criminal
Harsh but possibly true. You could also say they were bleeding fortunate to be ahead, as in my view, Australia gifted them at least one try and should really have been further clear.
Get in there Mr.Beef, could see that one coming.... Very tough on Scotland, one or two crucial decisions went against them, especially at the end. Cruel.
Don't worry Beefy..you've always got Daniel in Strictly to bring the bacon home..so my missus tells me.
What a game though - not even the most ardent Scottish fan was likely to think it would be a game like that. Gutted for them in a way.
The Scots can be very proud of their team they were fantastic. But they lacked nous in the last few minutes. They had a free kick with 2.5 mins left on the clock and opt for a kicking comp which ended with them having a lineout well in their own half. They could have opted for a scrum which would have used up a minute at least and likely have been able to keep possession or put the ball deep in Aussie territory (the brilliant and cynical kiwis would have ensured it wasted 2 mins) or they could have opted for a tap and go and kept it in the forwards. NH teams seem obsessed with aimless kicking. They're playing for the Webb Ellis trophy ffs. The game's origins come from this geezer picking the ball up and running with it. If he'd have opted for the NH preferred option the game would have never taken off in the first place. Having said all that the ref should have gone to the TMO to confirm the game deciding penalty. He guessed it came off the Scot last and was offside. IRB using all this technology and still key decisions are wrong.
Just this minute read this. Wow, what an article, and written by a Mr. Tom English too! http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/34568095 That Craig Joubert guy has to be a bit of a coward, or am I being unfair? Took off like an Olympic sprinter at the end.
I can sympathise with the referee to be honest, it wasn't an easy call to make, even the guys in the studio where in disagreement over the call, and they had re watched it countless times, so whatever call he made he was going to upset someone. Sean Maitlands sin binning was also very harsh, so you could argue that the decisions evened themselves out during the game. You have to think that sin binning cost the Aussies atleast 3 points in the match. Rugby referees aren't used to getting stick from the crowd, they probably aren't as thick skinned as a football referee who are used to being called a ****er for 90 mins week in week out. So you can kind of sympathise with him for wanting out of there fast. Even though in hindsight he probably regrets not shaking hands with both teams
The referee's hand was forced with the sin binning. It's a heavy price to pay in such an important game, but the fault is with the rule book. As for the debacle in the last 30 seconds. The incident can't be referred to the TMO for adjudication. It can only be used for foul play and the circumstances surrounding a potential try. Again it's in the rule book.
As I never saw the game, all I can say is that I heard one of the BBC commentators on Radio 5 Live this morning saying that whilst the winning penalty was being kicked, the referee saw the replay of the penalty incident on the big screen and they think he realised he had made a bad call; hence he did not want to hang around after the final whistle. Perhaps the Princess Royal would have had him sent to The Tower! If the TV pundits got to see half a dozen replays and could not agree, that just demonstrates the uselessness of video reviews. I regularly see decisions referred to the video official in Rugby League and they get it wrong as often as they get it right despite seeing three or four angles several times. As you say, decisions even themselves out during the game. I wonder how many dubious calls in the previous 79 minutes were glibly overlooked.
Quick glance at the handicap markets and the bookies expecting relatively close semi finals. All Blacks put in generally at 8pts against South Africa and the other semi even closer with Australia given a 6pt handicap against Argentina. We've seen 2 romps and 2 nailbiters just past, I wonder what the semis will provide?
