On the other hand a lot of people seem to be judging Horwill harshly. He has given the Reds many years of excellent captaincy. One bad night does not undo this. To those saying that he should be less likely to make the Wallabies squad as a result is in my view, bizarre.
The Reds lost this game in the 75th minute when Horwill directed Harris to take the penalty kick for goal to tie it up 27-27. To me that reeked of a team trying not to lose, not a team trying to win. At that stage of the game all they needed to do was up the intensity and go for a try. The way the Rebels were defending showed they would give away further penalties defending their line. Thus even if after a period time they were not able to cross the line, there was most probably a good chance of getting a draw in the end from a further penalty as the 80 minute mark approached.
By taking the kick instead, all they did was let the pressure off and bring the ball back to the Red's half, taking the result out of their hands.
The Reds lost this game in the 75th minute when Horwill directed Harris to take the penalty kick for goal to tie it up 27-27. To me that reeked of a team trying not to lose, not a team trying to win. At that stage of the game all they needed to do was up the intensity and go for a try. The way the Rebels were defending showed they would give away further penalties defending their line. Thus even if after a period time they were not able to cross the line, there was most probably a good chance of getting a draw in the end from a further penalty as the 80 minute mark approached.
By taking the kick instead, all they did was let the pressure off and bring the ball back to the Red's half, taking the result out of their hands.
From a neutral point of view I thought the Rebels clearly outplayed the Reds. But.. the score was just too close. I expected the game to finish as a draw until the TMO callback and you have to ask why, if the teams were that close on the scoreboard do I and many others on the thread think the Reds were totally outplayed. Either we are all watching with blue tinted glasses and the teams were even or there has to be a reason for the score being so close.
I haven't got an answer to my own question other than maybe they got the rub of the green from Walsh. But I think its a very important question to answer from both teams point of view. If the Rebels were dominant why weren't they up on the scoreboard? If the Reds were crap, how come they got so close?
Obviously we can't all just immediate switch off our emotions like yourself Tex
If the Rebels were dominant why weren't they up on the scoreboard? If the Reds were crap, how come they got so close?
This is what annoyed me.
Walsh had decided on a penalty to Reds and it wasn't until a replay was shown that the TMO picked up the Ed O offence so he intervened and went back to have a look at it. On the set of replays that ensued, I agree there was no indication of a head butt from higgers.
After Ed had been sent and Woodward was lining up his kick, a different replay was shown. This time it was plainly clear to see that Higgers gave Ed a very deliberate head butt. The fact that the TMO didn't intervention again but did for the other offence is what annoys me. It would've have no bearing on the game mind you but it's just frustrating when stuff like that happens.
Hopefully it will get picked up by the match reviewer.
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this has been a consistent problem for the Rebels all year, in at least three games they lost by close margins (highlanders, chiefs and sharks +/- canes game) they dominated the game for prolonged periods but couldn't score, then gave up penalties, or easy turnovers. they did much the same last night, except that the reds didn't / couldn't take as much advantage of the mistakes as other teams have done. the inexperience shows through with panic and over enthusiasm and inaccurate execution, last night the offloads stuck against a team with poor defence and so the tries came. i don't think the reds were awful, probably just one of those games where despite the subjective assessment from the sidelines, it was actually close. in the end i think the rebels were the deserved winners, but once again could have thrown away a winnable game with simple errors and untimely penalties. if they can eliminate those they will be a good team and enjoyable to watch.
The criticism of Horwill is appalling. People expect players to fight like the devil for 80 minutes yet be a saint and not exude passion as soon as the full time siren is up.
In a tight game with something like 6 losses on the trot he took definite points when on offer, something any captain does and now he's trying not too lose?
And now he's playing average to poor? People were saying at half time last week he was back to his best. Pull your fucking heads in you peanuts. You may not have gave a fuck about your school boy 7th grade team which you likely played in but to criticise a bloke for passion in the jersey is unwarranted and ludicrous.
So after 10 seasons, one comment makes him completely lacking of class?
I agree that players should hold themselves in high esteem but you have to be realistic. For fucks sake Graham Henry since the 2007 RWC has said at the time he thought the match was fixed. Do people say he lacks class? Of course not, it was one retrospective comment at a tough time.
If there was a pattern of this sort of thing I could totally understand