westwinds31 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 8:15 pm
Old Hob wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:28 pm
I would respectfully suggest that Sale have 2 points deducted for that "gamesmanship" at the end. Billy 36 could have taken a quick throw with who knows what result. The action of the water carrier materially affected the game. It may be that Glos would have been unable to capitalise but ?...
Not a lot in that. Water “boy” picks ball up...naughty...Twelvetrees pushes him and Curry takes offence. Big melee but Curry and 12T shake hands no bother. Question mark over Du Preez shoulder on Harris which should have been yellow at the very least. Bottom line is that Glos once again threw away a victory. It happens so often it’s not the officials fault every single time.
Gloucester lost through Lloyd's poor goalkicking. McGinty was the difference. That said, the officiating was poor - where was the TMO when Harris went off with a head injury after a no arms tackle to the head, under the current laws thats a straightforward red card. The ref couldn't have seen it and relied on the other officials to support him, but why didn't he ask questions when Harris was dragged off for a HIA? If the HIA spotter saw it, why did the TMO not?
I also agree with Skivington, the scrum penalty to Sale was plain wrong. You could see the Sale loose head driving the Glouc tight head inwards.
As for the water boy incident, why no meaningful punishment for Sale? Sending off a water boy is utterly pointless. Twelvetrees deserved the yellow, but the TMO seemed completely disinterested when Dickson ordered him to look at what started it, you could almost hear him shrugging his shoulders. The message to teams from that incident is "cheat. Go for it. You'll probably be better off". Cheating prospered and thats bad for rugby. Furthermore, should Curry not have been yellowed for retaliating to 12T?
On the other side of it, I was delighted to see Dickson penalise Ross for patting Balmain on the head after knocking on. More of that please, penalty for being a head.
It was a poor game, Gloucester didn't make the most of opportunities and Sale looked like a group of individuals who were there for the money and to prove how big and hard they are, not to win a game.
The commentators need to start taking some responsibility with regards to player safety, I'm fed up of hearing them wet themselves with glee over the "huge collision" following a dangerous no arms tackle. Stop glorifying it.
To summarise:
Gloucester poor.
Sale poor but kicked better.
Dickson inconsistent, let down by his TMO.
Not a great 80 minutes for rugby.