Loose Pass: Jacob’s mishap, errant decisions, the Lions
This week we will mostly be talking about finishing tries, finishing the full 80 in the new PC climate, finishing the matchday right and starting an old argument…
It’s in the detail
Oh Jacob! We’ve spoken before on here about the remarkable propensity of wingers and other assorted modern players to finish tries right, but this mistake takes some beating.
At least he was carrying the ball in the correct hand, mind, which for us is a bigger sin when it’s done wrong.
But this one will go right up there with Clement Poitrenaud’s misjudgement in 2004, Juan Leguizamon’s swallow dive (he dived, the ball flew away), Nick Cummins’ clearance to the tryline in 2014, Matt Dunning’s drop-goal when his team was chasing a bonus point try needed for semi-final qualification, that Japanese bloke who did a Leguizamon, Ardie Savea touching the ball down on his foot, Christophe Dominici’s drop against Italy and of course, Will Carling being picked up before he can touch down.
There are plenty of others if you scour YouTube – including a young Sonny Bill Williams slipping over the dead ball line as he goes to touch down.
Some of those are down to technique, some arrogance. Stockdale’s is technique. In a World Cup year, that’ll have to be a lesson he finally takes on board.
On the subject of technique…
Two red cards at the weekend we feel it necessary to revisit. Exactly how was Zack Holmes supposed to avoid Juan Imhoff – one of international rugby’s faster wingers – bearing down at full pace?
Imhoff crouched into the collision, as you are taught to do. But Holmes also did what you’d be taught to do. He crouched to waist height, square on, stepped in with the foot of the same shoulder, wrapped his arm as best he could and made what he must have assumed would be a good tackle.
Referee Luke Pearce was succinct in his summation: “I’m not seeing enough mitigation to bring this down to anything other than a red card.” But we just don’t agree.
This law was brought in to get rid of recklessness, stupidity and aggression. But Holmes’ technique was good (as was Imhoff’s) and yet he finds himself sent-off early in a pivotal game because of the technique of his opponent?
Compare this red card to, say, Tanielu Tele’a’s against the Stormers, where Tele’a’s technique in isolation was singularly dreadful, and we’ll go out and say it: Holmes’ red card was PC reffing gone nuts – like Kyle Sinckler milking a penalty by jumping into contact and making it unavoidable for the tackler in the last Lions tour. Good technique should not be punished.
Then over to South Africa, where two hookers saw their marching orders for a bit of a scrap at a ruck.
Akker van der Merwe deserved to go. But did Schalk Brits really? We’ve watched the replay repeatedly – including the weird bit where the commentators describe Brits as ‘going berserk’ – and we see Brits maybe, maybe, jab ineffectively after he’s cleaned out pretty cynically.
Then all we see is Van der Merwe holding Brits down and throwing a good couple of swinging fists, including pauses for verbals before them. From Brits, who let’s not forget is being held down and punched, we only see him pushing Van der Merwe away.
Let’s please get referees understanding the difference between a bad tackle from bad technique and the bad outcome of good technique. Otherwise why bother coaching players to tackle at all? It’s getting harder and harder to stay on the field, and we’re not sure that’s a good development for the game.
Whose round?
That said, both Brits and Van der Merwe were able to put it all swiftly behind them, as Brits made clear on social media with a well-filtered pic of he and his sparring partner sharing a beer shortly after the game.
A better way to finish a game we can’t think of, not least when you can’t actually finish the game.
Moment of mischief
Two years away still, and we don’t even know the coach yet (although we’re relatively sure it won’t be Eddie Jones). But just for kicks, here’s an interim Lions XV two years out from the choosing of the next Lions squad…
15 Liam Williams
14 Jacob Stockdale
13 Henry Slade
12 Owen Farrell
11 Jonny May
10 Gareth Anscombe
9 Gareth Davies
8 Ross Moriarty
7 Josh Navidi
6 Tom Curry
5 Tadhg Beirne
4 Alun Wyn Jones
3 Tadhg Furlong
2 Ken Owens
1 Rob Evans
Loose Pass compiled by Lawrence Nolan