Fuck you Mark Lawrence... fuck you...
Settle down, Slim. As a disinterested observer, and a referee, I can tell you Lawrence had nothing to do with the result. The Shetland Ponies' loss can be summarised in one word: Giteau. Crap kicking. Woeful running. My spare-rib, who comes from a solid league background, stuck her head in the door during a spell when Gits was impersonating a drunken crab (the bit where he not only ran his supports out of space but realised he'd no more sideways space left and tried to scuttle back the other way!) and asked, "does Giteau always run across the field?". My young bloke and I bellowed "YES!".
It would be presumptuous of Reds' supporters to start gloating from this (thin) victory. OK, getting one over the herd was good for them, and for Oz rugby in general, but there are still lots of questions about the Reds' performance. Cooper's tackling is (still) a major issue; it must be addressed for his sake, for the betterment of the Reds and, most importantly, for the Wallabies' RWC chances. Saia Fangiaa seems to have regressed despite the opportunities he's had with the Wallabies. This isn't good for Oz rugby as he's only one injury away from the backup rake's spot. And the backs have yet to rediscover their mojo from 2010. One bright spot is the back row selection (take a bow, Juan), it looked much more balanced with an enforcer, a fetcher and a lump. Now if only Leroy could improve his lumpishness.
The Shetland Ponies have a LOT of problems. My 19 year old son, a fellow second rower, has it in for Chisholm: he reckons he's useless. Leans on rucks. Loiters around mauls. Gains 10, sometimes 15cm, with the pill. Avoids the hard graft in general. And after (quite) a bit of careful observation I've come to the conclusion he's right. Alexander has been mucked around better than most in ACT rugby and now doesn't know if he's Arthur or Martha. How many THPs do the Shetlands need? Ben, or Dan, have a chat with the Tahs next year. Whatever the show pony backs are supposed to be doing doesn't seem to be involve their main strike weapon, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). Honestly, I thought he'd catch a cold last night. The only Shetland bright spots for me were Valentine's and McCabe's performances.
I first saw Mark Lawrence when he officiated a Pirates' grade match in 2003, the week before a test match. His positioning adjacent to the play impressed me mightily, and his decision-making seemed to be very good due to getting himself to where he could make that good decision. You're being a bit harsh, and emotional, Slim, M Lawrence is one of the better refs going around.