Super Rugby: Brumbies smash Waratahs 38-11 after TMO blunder to secure finals spot
The Brumbies beat the Waratahs so easily that it didn’t matter in the end but the botched ruling by the TMO didn’t help and it’s time Rugby Australia started punting officials who make mistakes to save them 15-man code from ridicule.
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Rugby Australia needs to take a leaf out of the NRL’s book and start coming down hard on officials making blunders that blind Freddy can see are wrong.
Players get chewed up by their coaches and roasted by keyboard warriors on social media all the time whenever they make silly mistakes on the field so it’s time match officials also got sent to the naughty room when they mess up.
The first official who needs to be looked at is TMO Ian Smith that awarded the try to Brumbies’ halfback Ryan Lonergan in Saturday’s 38-11 win over the Waratahs at GIO Stadium.
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The Brumbies won so easily in the end that Lonergan’s first half try had no impact on the result but that shouldn’t save the TMO from being placed under review by Rugby Australia because it was a comical ruling.
Lonergan was clearly in front of Bayley Kuenzie when the ACT No. 10 kicked through that it was a no-brainer to disallow the try but to everyone’s astonishment the TMO said he was fine so the five-pointer counted.
As Fox’s Sports commentator Rod Kafer, a former Brumby himself, explained: “It’s difficult to be onside when you’re a halfback passing backwards.
“Even I can’t accept that. That’s what I would call a mile off-side.”
Kafer’s co-commentator Phil Kearns, a former Waratahs, was bemused by the ruling.
“I’ve only got (Lonergan) a metre and a half (off-side),” He said. “But it only has to be a centimetre.”
Rugby TMO’s have been under fire for years for making botched calls with SANZAAR ordering a full review two years ago to try and fix things but the problems still exist.
The NRL didn’t hesitate to dump bunker officials who messed up this season and Rugby Australia should do the same now that they are responsible for the hiring and firing of match officials in the domestic competition, which has had fans flocking back to the 15-man code.
The try had no bearing whatsoever on the result because the Brumbies gave the Waratahs an old fashioned beating, piling on 26 unanswered points in the second half.
NSW – sarcastically dubbed “world beaters” by Brumbies coach Dan McKellar after they broke an 18-month drought by winning two games in a row were still in the contest at the break.
Jack Dempsey made amends for dropping the ball over the line at the start of the match when he crossed out wide to send the visitors to the interval trailing 12-11.
But the second 40 minutes was all one-way traffic as the Brumbies ran in four more tries – two each to big backrower Peter Samu and future Wallaby winger Tom Wright.
The Brumbies returned to the top of the table and joined the Reds in securing a place in the finals leaving the Waratahs and Rebels – who will face each other at Leichhardt Oval next weekend – to fight out the last spot.
We just gave too many penalties away - we know the Brumbies when they get down in their attacking half they come at you all day and we gave them too many opportunities,“ NSW captain Rob Simmons said.
“When we give away that many penalties our heads start dropping and we start going elsewhere and looking to solve things individually.”