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Ian Smith: Roigard outshines highly vaunted Dupont before baffling benching
Ian Smith • November 18th, 2024 3:06 pm
Who would be an on-field referee in rugby union? At least, rugby union that's on TV anyway.
Effectively, every time the game gets stopped by an official upstairs for previous historical indiscretions - and they are countless - isn't that really just an indication of the incompetence by the on-field officials, an indication that they are missing far too much?
You can blame Nika Amashukeli from Georgia and his mates all you like for the All Blacks loss, but if you haven't had a chance to watch our very own James Doleman and his cohorts control Monday morning's Wales v Australia, It's absolutely no different.
Is it written in law somewhere that they have to take advice, or can they just not run with their own judgement every now and then?
All Blacks vs France was a cracking game of rugby. Aside from the official's best efforts, it could have gone either way. It was a hell of a contest. Any number of on-field decisions or coaching mandated ones could have been attributed to the outcome.
Should we have kicked in the corner? Should we have gone for the posts and taken the points? Don't they say that in Test matches, you always take the points?
I haven't heard whether Cam Roigard was injured or tired after 50 minutes. Sure as God made little green apples, though, it didn't look like it.
Up until then, he was out-pointing Antoine Dupont - the great Dupont, in most aspects. Ratima is Ratima, but he ain't no Roigard or Dupont, and it showed.
Maybe Fabien Galthie's 6-2 bench strategy to counter the All Blacks bench worked a little bit more effectively, as well.
Tamaiti Williams is a giant in all regards. Wallace Sititi is the future, whatever number is on his back, and Ardie Savea out wide in those tramlines with Caleb Clarke was a huge plus.
Twelve months of Razor - does he know who's our best No. 10, or No. 15 for that matter?
We will mop up Italy with aplomb. They celebrated a narrow win over Georgia like they'd won the Webb Ellis itself, which shows their present standards.
It will be a 10-4 year, and when you look at those narrow margins, it could have been anything at all.
