Ex-Springboks forward: Greatest Rivalry could ‘get nasty’ with referees
Hanyani Shimange predicts that Greatest Rivalry tour 'could get ugly'.
Former Springboks hooker Hanyani Shimange is wary that Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour ‘could get ugly’ if the referee bashing continues.
The All Blacks made light work of the Sharks in Durban in their second touring game after they stuttered to a victory over the Stormers in Cape Town last week.
In that win over the Stormers, Dave Rennie’s side were ill-disciplined, conceding 16 penalties and had three players yellow-carded en route to a 38-21 victory. A vastly changed All Blacks outfit then faced the Sharks, and the discipline improved with no cards and just eight penalties conceded.
Criticism of the match officials from New Zealand
Still, the match in Durban was stalled by TMO reviews, which was also an issue in Cape Town, with New Zealand fans and pundits more accustomed to the Super Rugby Pacific protocols, which have limited the influence and power of the fourth official.
Rennie has repeatedly expressed his desire to speed up the game and play at a fast tempo and before arriving in South Africa, he said that the coaches would be putting pressure on officials to get tempo into matches.
He doubled down after the win over the Sharks in Durban.
“We know if we can be accurate and disciplined, the ball’s going to be in play a lot, and we’ll be able to apply pressure,” Rennie told reporters.
“But every time you turn it over and give away a penalty, you give the opposition a chance to slow the game down. So I was pleased that Matt Carley put a bit of pressure on them to set their line-out quicker rather than taking a minute. So that was good.”
His comments also came after legendary All Blacks winger Sir John Kirwan slammed Karl Dickson’s handling of the tour opener in Cape Town, stating that the Englishman was ‘pedantic’ and said he had a poor performance.
Kirwan is just one of many New Zealand pundits who have hit out at the officiating not only during the tour but also in the Nations Championship last month.
Ex-Springboks on the officiating in RGR
Former Springboks Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Shimange, aka Shimmy, discussed the outcry about the officiating on the latest Verdict show.
“I want to talk about the officiating,” De Villiers began.
“Already we are one game in, and a big part of the analysis of games is down to the officiating.
“Will we be able to sort this out? Will we be able to finish off this Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry and not let the officials be the spotlight?”
“No,” Burger immediately remarked. Shimmy before Shimmy predicted “I think it’s I think it’s got the potential to get nasty.”
“Absolutely,” Burger replied. “How many penalties did the All Blacks concede on the weekend?”
Shimange added: “17, 10 at the set-piece. Tosi, the tighthead prop, conceded four, collapsing and pancaking the scrums, not getting his grip, not chasing his legs up.
“It was three from New Zealand: Anton Lienert-Brown, Simon Parker with the mauling, and Josh Moorby for the tackle. Even the Lienert-Brown tackle, me was like it wasn’t that bad.
“We obviously watch the New Zealand podcasts, and they’re going on about the reffing, but styles make fights. So, the All Blacks to South Africa, there are differences – set pieces; they are under pressure. I think it’s got the potential to get nasty with the referees.”
Maul defence tactics
Shimmy is renowned for his expertise and analysis when it comes to scrums and forward play in South African circles and expressed his opinion on how the All Blacks defend mauls.
In the build-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Jason Ryan was hailed for his work with the All Blacks around the mauls with the team, and Crusaders previously, rarely conceding tries from the tactic.
However, against the Stormers, New Zealand conceded twice from the driving maul, and Shimmy believes that the tactics that were once so effective aren’t any more.
“Remember the game just before the World Cup, the Springboks hurt the All Blacks in terms of the mauling. So Stormer has had the best mauls in the URC and New Zealand hadn’t conceded a maul try in however many Test matches, but the Stormers scored two already,” he said.
“The way New Zealand stop mauls, I’m not sure I agree with the strategy or how they do it and I think they could get hurt here.”
READ MORE: Sir Steve Hansen: Springboks v All Blacks was a ‘key’ reason why neutral referees were brought in