It’s the morning after the night before and I’m still feeling pretty sad. Wales have been the stars of this World Cup, playing some brilliant rugby and doing so with a smile on their faces. Their young players have been a breath of fresh air and they’ve become the darlings of the tournament. So it’s disappointing that a referee’s decision has ultimately cost them a place in the World Cup final.
Yes, Sam Warburton’s tackle on Vincent Clerc was dangerous – he took the player off his feet – but their was no malice involved, he didn’t intend to hurt him. If anything he was too strong for his own good when it came to tackling someone of smaller stature. There’s no question it was a penalty to France and a yellow card for Warburton, but Alain Rolland pulled red from his pocket and Wales’ captain had to watch the next 60 minutes of the game from the bench.
I think the decision would have been easier to take had Rolland consulted with his assistant referees, especially as it looks like his view of the incident was blocked by Lionel Nallet. Instead, he made a snap decision and pulled out the red card – ending the involvement of one of the standout players of the tournament and putting Wales at a huge disadvantage.
I know referees’ chief Paddy O’Brien told referees to start at red and work backwards for tip tackles, but common sense should be applied in situations like this. There was no intent and once Warburton realised he’d tipped Clerc he pulled out of the tackle, trying to minimise the effect of his hit. It’s a shame that one decision can have such an impact on the entire tournament.
What makes it even tougher for Wales is that even when down to 14 men they were the better team. France were desperately limited, content to sit back and defend a narrow lead, while Wales played far more rugby and scored a great try through Mike Phillips. Had their goalkicking been better – James Hook missed two penalties, Leigh Halfpenny’s long-range penalty fell just short and a Stephen Jones conversion hit the post – they would have won this game because the French seemed clueless as to how to get points on the board themselves.
France will need to up the game significantly to avoid being blown away in the final while I hope Wales can motivate themselves enough to play their best rugby in the third-place play-off as they deserve to finish the World Cup on a high.
BEST AND WORST SIGHTS OF THE SEMI-FINAL
1. Seeing Ryan Jones smiling during the anthems was brilliant – you could sense how much he was enjoying the occasion and soaking up the atmosphere. A rare sight in Test rugby but a welcome one.
2. French players chest pumping at the final whistle. Yes, they’ve made it to the final but they shouldn’t be celebrating like that after such a woeful performance.
3. The dignity with which Sam Warburton dealt with his red card. Not only did he walk calmly from the field rather than remonstrate with Alain Rolland, but he coped with a camera being put right in his face, joined his team-mates in applauding the fans at the end and fronted up to the media post-match. I can think of few people in a similar situation who would do that.
4. A return to the kick-fest of the 2007 World Cup. At one point I thought I’d been transported back four years to France given the amount of up-and-unders on view – a tactic that neither team employed to great effect.
Tags: Sam Warburton, Wales, World Cup
October 16, 2011 at 12:59 am |
well said /