Referees and officials have been too lenient on foul play offenders in Bok and British & Irish Lions series.
In spite of several examples of unbridled aggression – some of which have been highlighted by the host broadcaster during the games – citing commissioners have failed to identify the culprits or to hand down any suspensions during the landmark series between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions.
In the 34th minute, the Lions were awarded a scrum deep in South African territory. Referee Nic Berry was in a terrific position to witness the front-row battle between Ox Nché and Tadhg Furlong. Nché left the field at half-time and didn’t return. South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus later confirmed that Nché had suffered a neck injury in that particular scrum. The Bok loosehead prop was sidelined for the rest of the series.In recent years, officials have clamped down on dangerous challenges in the air. It’s not uncommon to see reckless attempts to compete for the ball resulting in a yellow card.
The law says that a player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head makes contact with the ground. The officials decided to penalise Watson, and most – including former Test referee Nigel Owens – felt that the player was fortunate not to receive a yellow card.
While Kolbe wasn’t as overtly aggressive as his opposite number, he did overstep the mark on a couple of occasions. He got his timing wrong in the 16th minute when he rushed out of the defensive line and attempted to tackle Murray. The result was a head clash, which officials failed to acknowledge.
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