One-eyed whistleblower canes visiting Aussie teams 31-3 in penalty count

From the moment this season kicked off, the Waratahs have been cursed, relentlessly punished both on and off the field, with NSW’s latest antagonist coming in the form of referee Egon Seconds.

Referee Egon Seconds (L) has blown 31 penalties against two Australian teams. Picture: AFP

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If rugby really is the game they play in heaven, the NSW Waratahs must be wondering what they did to deserve the year from hell.

From the moment this season kicked off, the Waratahs have been cursed, relentlessly punished both on and off the field.

Some of it: the missed tackles, the dropped balls, the wayward passes and brain snaps, have been of their own doing.

But a lot of their problems have not been their fault, so no wonder they’re scratching their heads trying to figure out why the rugby gods have turned on them.

When they arrive home after two disastrous weeks in South Africa, they’ll be flying straight into the eye of the storm that’s about to blow up when Israel Folau’s punishment is handed out.

Referee Egon Seconds (L) has blown 31 penalties against two Australian teams. Picture: AFP

It’s bad enough that NSW have lost their top tryscorer, but it’s the fallout the Waratahs have been left to clean up that’s caused the most damage.

The issue has divided the squad, so plaudits to the players for agreeing to put their differences aside and remain united for the betterment of the team, even as Folau continues to send private messages to some players asking for their support.

Some kudos too for Michael Hooper and Daryl Gibson, who have shouldered a heavy burden that has left both emotionally drained.

While Folau has remained silent since his divisive social media postings, they’ve been left to front the cameras and journalists to answer the questions their former teammate won’t.

Things aren’t going any better on the field. The Waratahs have slumped to 13th place after losing seven of their 11 matches.

Waratahs suffered a heartbreaking loss to Lions. Picture: AFP

That’s inexcusable but there are some mitigating factors. Each of the seven losses has been by eight points or less, and four of them have been by three or less, including Saturday night’s almost comical 29-28 defeat by the Lions.

The Tahs were never going to win that after the most baffling referee in Super Rugby was put in charge of the match.

Serious questions have already been asked about South African whistleblower Egon Seconds after he penalised the Rebels 20-1 in their loss to the Lions earlier in the season.

And he was up to his old tricks this weekend, hammering the Tahs 11-2 in the penalty count - that’s 31-3 against visiting Australian teams - as well as repeatedly getting in the way of the action.

He was twice knocked over by players and at one point, appeared to put his hands in a ruck, triggering a flood of complaints, many from South African supporters, who were angered and embarrassed by his one-eyed display.

“We absorbed a lot of pressure in our own area and I felt calls didn't go our way right at the death there, that perhaps could have,” said Gibson, who has had to bite his tongue on so many prickly issues this year he could get a run as a foreign diplomat.

“There were a couple of calls late in the game I felt were harsh on us. That was the turning point. Particularly the penalty to get the Lions to go up three, I thought that was tough. It was a collapsed maul that was called a tackle.

“But that’s rugby. I am not going to bemoan and make excuses for the side. It was a close game, any team could have won.”

Originally published as One-eyed whistleblower canes visiting Aussie teams 31-3 in penalty count