{"id":290322,"date":"2023-09-11T00:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T00:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=290322"},"modified":"2023-09-11T00:35:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T00:35:02","slug":"townsend-rues-refereeing-inconsistency-in-south-africa-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/rugby-union\/townsend-rues-refereeing-inconsistency-in-south-africa-defeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Townsend rues refereeing &apos;inconsistency&apos; in South Africa defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Scotland coach Gregor Townsend tears into officials over &#8216;inconsistency&#8217; during their World Cup defeat to South Africa after Jesse Kriel avoided a red card following head-to-head contact with Jack Dempsey<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Gregor Townsend felt refereeing &#8216;inconsistency&#8217; harmed his team in 18-3 loss<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Springbok Jesse Kriel escaped punishment for a dangerous tackle early on<\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gregor Townsend hit out at the \u2018inconsistency\u2019 of officials after Springboks centre Jesse Kriel dodged a potential red card after just 57 seconds of Scotland\u2019s 18-3 defeat to the world champions.<\/p>\n<p>The Scots suffered a demoralising start to their World Cup campaign as South Africa squeezed the life out of them in Marseille, with tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse in the third quarter taking the game away from them following a tightly contested first half.<\/p>\n<p>It leaves Townsend\u2019s side with no margin for error in their remaining three matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland if they are to qualify for the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest controversy of the match came within the first minute when Kriel went in high and made head-to-head contact with Scotland back row Jack Dempsey.<\/p>\n<p>England\u2019s Tom Curry had been sent off against Argentina for a similar offence 24 hours earlier, but yesterday\u2019s referee Angus Gardner and his team of officials missed the Kriel incident, and Townsend insisted the TMO, Welshman Ben Whitehouse, should have stepped in.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75276643-0-image-a-41_1694387895258.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scotland coach Gregor Townsend criticised the &#8216;inconsistency of officials at the Rugby World Cup after South Africa&#8217;s Jesse Kriel avoided a red card following a head-to-head collision with Jack Dempsey<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75269933-0-The_pair_collided_with_Barclay_believing_that_if_you_like_it_or_-a-44_1694388005111.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The pair collided, but the officials missed the incident much to Townsend&#8217;s frustration<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75270211-0-This_comes_after_England_s_Tom_Curry_was_sent_off_for_a_similar_-a-45_1694388015423.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>This comes after England&#8217;s Tom Curry was sent off for a similar challenge on Saturday night<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I saw it on the television from two screens away and it did look like it was a head-on-head collision and I was expecting the TMO to come in to make the referee aware of that,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Who knows if it had been a red card? We had a red card on Saturday and it didn\u2019t help or change the game in terms of Argentina\u2019s favour against England, so who knows? But it is inconsistency over what is a red card, a yellow card or a penalty that I am frustrated by.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Townsend was also angered by an incident involving South Africa winger Arendse, who appeared to punch Finn Russell in the ribs shortly before the Scotland fly-half was penalised in the next passage of play for a no-arms tackle.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That decision frustrated me, too,\u2019 he said. \u2018It was bad as it did look like Finn was coming off. He had a rib injury which seemed like it was going to stop him from continuing but he dug deep and fought really hard.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Some of his defensive work in the second half was outstanding and it shows how much he cares about his team-mates and playing for Scotland that he continued.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Prop Jamie Bhatti had a close view of the Kriel incident from the touchline as he sat among Scotland replacements.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018It should have been reviewed. Look at the red card that happened here on Saturday night with Tom Curry. I know it didn\u2019t change that game but you need to be consistent with calls like that. You can\u2019t red card someone for the same thing on Saturday night then this one doesn\u2019t even get looked at.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Jack (Dempsey) is not happy. You can imagine what he\u2019s like in the changing room. You would have that one-man advantage and it could have changed the game completely.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Former Scotland captain John Barclay told ITV it was a definite sending-off in his view.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You\u2019re two minutes into a game and you\u2019ve got an incident which is a clear red card,\u2019 he said. \u2018It\u2019s a red card.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He (Kriel) comes from a distance, with a clear line of sight, no drop in height, and he applies force. It\u2019s head-on-head. The way the game is refereed now, whether you like it or not, that is a red card.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We saw a very similar incident last night (Tom Curry) which was given as a yellow and then upgraded in the bunker to a red.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is where the game gets a bit messy. The fact it\u2019s not even been seen or reviewed is inexcusable.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It should have been looked at. I believe it\u2019s a red card based on the facts we see in the images. These are the kind of tackles we\u2019re trying to get out of the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The fact that it\u2019s not even been looked at is the most concerning thing for me. It\u2019s a bit bizarre.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75270201-0-Jesse_Kriel_should_have_been_sent_off_for_his_head_on_head_conta-a-43_1694387988607.jpg\" height=\"634\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Kriel should have been sent off for his head-on-head contact with Jack Dempsey, said former Scotland captain John Barclay<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75277055-0-image-a-48_1694388759248.jpg\" height=\"437\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fly-half Finn Russell also appeared to take a blow to the ribs from South Africa winger Kurt-Lee Arendse<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75276755-0-image-a-47_1694388079917.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Springboks went on to overpower Townsend&#8217;s side recording a comfortable 18-3 victory<\/p>\n<p>Despite the Kriel controversy, Scotland were ultimately overpowered by the Springboks and head coach Townsend admitted they also paid the price for a lack of accuracy in their play.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018Disappointed, really disappointed. We were slow to get going in the first half. There was inaccuracy in our game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But then we built into the game and we were more than up for the challenge of South Africa, the way they play.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We started to win penalties at scrum time, which was a real bonus. There were opportunities \u2014 though not many \u2014 in our attacking game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And we talked about how in the second half we needed to build on what we had done in that second quarter.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018But we started with inaccuracy, South Africa dominated possession for a period and took their points and it became difficult in those conditions against that defence to play from deep.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It became risky and we never got the accuracy to trouble them on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Accuracy in attack and in defence&#8230; we will be relatively satisfied with the effort which went in but I still think there is more in us with that.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75276649-0-image-a-42_1694387900826.jpg\" height=\"454\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Townsend felt &#8216;inaccuracy&#8217; in his side&#8217;s game in both attack and defence proved costly in Marseille<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/00\/75276741-0-image-a-46_1694388073131.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scotland struggled to keep pace with the World Cup holders, failing to fashion chances to score points<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u2018Our attack in general starts from our set-piece, winning possession and what we did when we had that possession has got to improve.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We only scored three points and that is unusual for us.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Townsend laid no blame at the door of winger Darcy Graham for butchering a great chance for a try when he had Duhan van der Merwe outside him but instead tried to go it alone.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u2018It was a great dummy and he got through but maybe didn\u2019t realise someone was coming from behind.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12502779\/Scotland-coach-Gregor-Townsend-tears-officials-inconsistency-World-Cup-defeat-South-Africa-Jesse-Kriel-avoided-red-card-following-head-head-contact-Jack-Dempsey.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Scotland coach Gregor Townsend tears into officials over &#8216;inconsistency&#8217; during their World Cup defeat to South Africa after Jesse Kriel avoided a red card following head-to-head contact with Jack Dempsey Gregor Townsend felt refereeing &#8216;inconsistency&#8217; harmed his team in 18-3 loss Springbok&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Townsend rues refereeing &amp;apos;inconsistency&amp;apos; in South Africa defeat - Sports-Life-News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/rugby-union\/townsend-rues-refereeing-inconsistency-in-south-africa-defeat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Townsend rues refereeing &amp;apos;inconsistency&amp;apos; 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