Fiji Shortchanged by Match Officials
(John Sanday, former Fiji rugby international who played at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. He represented Fiji from 1986 to 1988.)
Déjà vu is a French term meaning an uncanny feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
As I sat through last Saturday’s Rugby World Cup match between Fiji and the Wallabies I was somewhat unnerved by what I was seeing.
My mind went back to the 1987 Rugby World Cup quarterfinals which we eventually lost to France but in that game, if I recollect properly we were denied two tries by Clive Norling saying the final pass was forward. Likewise, in the game against Italy, Sairusi Naituku (RIP) had clearly grounded the ball on the line but referee, David Bishop of NZ disallowed it simply because he was late arriving to the scene to determine if indeed it was a try. The same was for the 1999 Rugby World Cup match between Fiji and France that was handled by Kiwi referee, Paddy O’Brien. In that infamous match O’Brien ‘dudded’ Fiji by several abysmal calls that cost Fiji the game. O’Brien later admitted that he had ‘lost the plot’. O’Brien rained a terrible injustice against Fiji that will never be forgotten.
Last Saturday, we had another Kiwi blowing the whistle in Fiji’s match against the Wallabies. Ben O’Keefe is another Kiwi with an ‘O’ in his surname. He is an ophthalmologist (another ‘O’) by profession so his eyesight must be good. Alas, not so good in my view. Two critical decisions by O’Keefe helped the Wallabies knock over Fiji. The first was in the 25th minute when Reece Hodge used a shoulder charge against Peceli Yato who was charging towards the try line. Both the referee and Englishmen Rowan Kitt in the TMO box saw nothing in it!
It has been reported in overseas media that Kitt later told Wallabies Coach Michael Cheika, that Hodge does not need to worry about further action! I wonder whether Kitt did so with a gentle nudge to Cheika’s midriff and a knowing wink?
The Fiji team has rightly referred the incident to the Citing Commissioner.
In my view, the Reece Hodge shoulder charge meets the ‘red card threshold’ and he should have been sent walking. The whole of Fiji now awaits the decision by the Citing Commissioner with all fingers and toes crossed.
The other crucial call O’Keefe made was the sin-binning of Fiji’s Lepani Botia. Video replays show Botia was on his feet contesting the ruck when Wallaby captain Michael Hooper dived head first like a torpedo from the wrong side of the ruck using his head to knock Botia off his feet. Instead of penalizing Hooper for joining the ruck from the wrong side and not staying on his feet, the referee sin binned Botia who was on his feet and on the right side of the ruck! Strewth! The Wallabies scored two crucial tries while Botia was in the sin bin. Wrongfully sin binned I submit. I would strongly encourage Fiji team officials to also bring this incident to the attention of the Citing Commissioner.
Let’s be clear. I am not taking away anything from the Wallabies victory. They are a great team and were able to adjust their game plan in the second half. Full marks too to their set pieces in the second half. It won them the game. I am tipping them to go far in this World Cup. My gripe is with officialdom. Had the referee and match officials made the right calls especially with regard to the two crucial decisions referred to above, the final scoreline between Fiji and the Wallabies would have been closer. Considering the unfair calls made against Fiji, I can’t help but feel that maybe, just maybe, there is an element of unconscious bias against Pacific Island teams doing well in the Rugby World Cup? That unwritten script holds that Tier 2 nations should not be seen to knock over Tier 1 nations before a global audience.
How else can one explain the terrible calls made by O’Brien against Fiji in 1999?
How else can one explain Ben O’Keefe (and the TMO) ignoring the Reece Hodge shoulder charge, as well as the blatant offside and dangerous play by Wallaby Michael Hooper that resulted in Botia’s sin binning?
I agree with the Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus, who recently appealed for rugby officials to ‘respect the game’.
By that I take it to mean that he is appealing for a sense of fair play across the board by officials calling the game. And foremost, that that they need to respect the spirit of the game.
For nations participating in the Rugby World Cup, the stakes are high. It is incumbent on World Rugby to ensure that all the ‘checks and balances’ are in place and that the spirit of fair play in all facets of the game are promoted and upheld by officials at all levels.
Taki tale mada.