@ TOCC: Cleaning out a player is cleaning out a player. It doesn't matter if I hit him back, front, or sideways. If I prop a scrum against someone who I can see has his shoulder in the wrong spot, I'm going to engage just the same way. That is HIS fault, not mine.
@ Bruce: Force is irrelevant. Intent is. The intent was to get him onside, not injure him. Happened earlier in the game - same two players, similar situation next to a breakdown (see below). If we start taking Hollywooding into account we'll be no better than soccer in 5 years.
@ Scotty - I never claimed my comments weren't biased. Perhaps it was only a penalty and a stern talking to for the Reds about their ceaseless foul play. However, you're dreaming if you think your scrum isn't in serious trouble. I too hate technical decisions that don't affect outcomes, but they were few and far between.
There were two scrums that I counted where you got solid hit and good, clean ball. Every other scrum Joubert was either too stupid to penalise you for not pushing straight or you were losing the ball. You should have played at least 20 minutes of that game with 14 players as Daley and then most likely Slipper got sent to the bin.
With that, here is the second half pertinent bits from my POV:
40:41 Joubert says Blue ripped the ball in the tackle and therefore carried it over - 5m Reds scrum. Yet earlier in the game Genia ripped it off TPN and he called that a knock-on advantage. Does not compute and that is one of my personal bugbears of the "rip" rulings refs hand out. Its not EVER a knock-on IMHO - if a guy rips it out, it can't be by definition because someone else has played the ball. If you lose it in direct contact, fair enough.
42:53 Well-worked Reds try to Big Kev but jeez the Tahs' defence is ordinary in terms of mobility. Reds stepping around the corner at scrum time again doesn't help if the ref doesn't know his scrums.
44:48 Perfect example of why Carter shouldn't be at 13 and maybe not even in the team. Ponderous as he gets cleaned up by 4 Reds cover defenders with the line in sight. Lateral movement from the inside backs doesn't help.
46:30 Interestingly, Saia F is standing on the wrong side of a breakdown here and Mumm hits him in the back from a similar position as the one later in the game. No card though. Consistency? Not here...
50:30 Gawd Mitchell is an awful tackler. Has Cooper at his mercy and gets palmed.
51:27 Lineout Reds - but no-one jumped? Easily picked off by Mowen.
54:02 Reds pick off another restart... Worrying and I hope Axel was taking notes.
Interesting to note at this point that the Reds are starting to get a bit lazy in defence and attack, leading to some pushed passes and sloppy hands. Three home games in the humidity will not help them. The Tahs look like they have all game: disinterested. Too much so to take advantage of the Reds' inaccuracies
54:20 Burgess pulls off a couple of real hard hits in this passage - cleans out well and then bumps Weekes too.
56:48 Bad call by the TJ on Reds played in touch as they counter, but it was split-second stuff
58:15 Daley finally gets done for stepping around.
59:10 Off the subsequent lineout the Tahs attack, but they're all bunched up around the next ruck. No-one wants to run wide... Then Burgess is forced to dither because no-one wants to run the ball at all!
61:09 Reds are still more enthused at the breakdown and their 1 is worth our 2 at this point.
61:20 Great tackle by Burgess on Genia. Looking at the game overall he's one of the most effective tacklers for the Tahs. Its a short list however...
62:11 Reds scrum with a list of infringements to pick on (Daley hand on ground, Daley not binding, Daley shoulders below hips, Daley packing crooked, Genia offside, Shaw not staying bound, Higginbotham not staying bound, neither Reds second rower remaining bound). Should have been a yellow card for Daley as its about his third or fourth offence. Joubert, like an idiot, picks on Shaw for not binding back row instead, not realising that's just a consequence, not a cause.
64:41 Burgess dithers at the scrum base then goes himself. Its clear why - Hangers is standing in the pocket and not imposing himself upon the game.
65:28 I take Phil Waugh's point here about the shoulder charge on Beale - there have been repeated foul play infringements by the Reds, including dangerous play at scrum time, and the ref has failed to card them for it. It sets a standard and then later in the game look what happens to their discipline ... Joubert's explanation doesn't hold water: why just count ruck infringements as professional fouls and not a team's overall infringement rate?
66:47 A.Fainga'a gets caught standing on the wrong side of a kick taken by Turner. He is trapped there on his feet but instead of standing still he's allowed by the ref to interfere with the ball. If players on the ground are a penalty, then players on their feet are a penalty. Simple.
67:55 Reds done for fading on the hit. That's about 6 scrum infringements now.
68:57 On review, the penalty try for the Genia/Mowen incident is still the right decision for the right reason.
71:43 At the other end, Joubert doesn't ask about the foul play on Turner, just whether its going to be lineout or 22. Inconsistent again.
71:58 In the leadup to Sidey's try, Burgess makes the perfect decisions each play. Lineout ball drops at the end of his reach so he dive passes to Hangers (who should have given it), then turns it back for Baxter to suck the Reds defence in. That is the key moment for the try - just thankful that our cleanout finally showed some commitment.
75:02 Worst yellow card decision in the game so far on Mumm, including those that SHOULD have been awarded. Reds' decision making processes are now starting to fray.
77:04 At this point the discipline of the Reds is starting to let them down. Its not all their fault; Joubert let them get away with bullshit right up until the 75th minute mark.
77:26 Phil Waugh is still barking at the troops. He's not giving up. Love it.
77:41 Carter finally runs straight with a bit of conviction, in what is the Tahs' best passage of play all night.
77:48 Holmes gets isolated and 2-3 Reds pile in on him. The only guy holding them off is Waugh - that's the measure of the bloke right there.
79th minute The post-try melee was actually started by Kepu who can just be seen in a corner of screen in-goal. Carter joins in and then somewhere along the line Waugh is involved. Its great to see: Waugh right in the middle, pointing at the scoreboard and giving Higginbotham and Byrnes the verbal
Its sad to see the look on Big Kev's face. To knock a team off their game and still come up short must be giving them horrors for the rest of the season... Adam Byrnes however can fuck off.
Waugh is my man of the match for the Tahs, but it would have to be Hynes otherwise.