Refs for the Q Finals

[travelling_gerry]

Sat 8 October 18:00 Ireland v Wales Wellington C. Joubert AR W. Barnes AR R. Poite

Sat 8 October 20:30 England v France Auckland S. Walsh AR A. Rolland AR G. Clancy

Sun 9 October 18:00 South Africa v Australia Wellington B. Lawrence AR D. Pearson AR R. Poite

Sun 9 October 20:30 New Zealand v Argentina Auckland N. Owens AR J. Kaplan AR G. Clancy

[GAFFA]

You have got to be kidding me Byrce Lawrence again!!! I think the IRB has it in for the Wallabies this is becoming a cruel joke the bloke shouldnt even be there he can not keep up nor does he has a clue at scrum time. I wonder what the penalty count at scrum time will be this week what a joke! He is half the problem with the wallabies Scrum

[Blackswan]

Darling Bryce was the ref earlier this year that resulted in the headline "Wallabies battle Boks and Bryce to win in Durban". And of course he was in charge (or should that be guessing ?) for the Irish match a couple of weeks ago.

If only he could start a match without his mind already fixed on who is at fault at a scrum.

I don't suppose Paddy had anything to do with the appointments ? You know, Paddy who hung Stew Dickinson out to dry because he sin-binned a kiwi prop for repeated scrum infringements against Italy. The one who wrote articles for the NZ press about how the Aussie srcum was going to be in trouble the coming Saturday because of the referee that had been appointed for the match ..........

Let's see if the Boks win on penalties awarded for scrum infringements. If only the TAB would take the bet.

[GIGS20]

At his point I'd take Kaplan over Lawrence.....I'd take George Ayoub as TMO as well.

[oxleymoron]

With Bryce on the paddock, all my vcash will be going on the yarpies.

[GAFFA]

Darling Bryce was the ref earlier this year that resulted in the headline "Wallabies battle Boks and Bryce to win in Durban". And of course he was in charge (or should that be guessing ?) for the Irish match a couple of weeks ago.

Its amazing how the scrum holds up all through the tri-nations, hold its own in the Italy game and as expected out gunned the USA. But give BL the whistle and the scrum looks shaky both against Ireland and even Russia. Go figure!

[tdevil]

I think he is the worst ref at the WC, but it wont be any easier for the Saffers as he was the ref in 2 of the last 5 games between us and SA and we won both, so we can do it again....

[Ecky]

Sat 8 October 18:00 Ireland v Wales Wellington C. Joubert AR W. Barnes AR R. Poite

Sat 8 October 20:30 England v France Auckland S. Walsh AR A. Rolland AR G. Clancy

Sun 9 October 18:00 South Africa v Australia Wellington B. Lawrence AR D. Pearson AR R. Poite

Sun 9 October 20:30 New Zealand v Argentina Auckland N. Owens AR J. Kaplan AR G. Clancy

Interesting.

I thought Barnesy was going really well but a friend tells me he had a bit of a howler in his last run, which I missed.

Walshy seems to be going well as well. I've seen him twice and he's looking good. For an Aussie.

I am in agreement with those voicing concern about Bryce Lawrence's preconceptions at scrum time. And so I voice my own concern as well too also. Still, we done good under him in recent times generally.

Joubert has been going well and there's not been much to complain about with Owens.

There is, however, much to complain about generally. Should I?

[BeeJay]

Bryce is a pruck.

[GIGS20]

There is, however, much to complain about generally. Should I?

Yeah, let loose Ecky

[bunter]

I'll happily swap Lawrence for that idiot Owens, who clearly looses control of a match when he speaks to players as he did in the last Samoa game.
I agree that Walsh is doing ok and I'll even forgive Barnes for kicking the AB's out of previous RWC as he has been going ok too. I too, have not seen his last effort though.

[The InnFORCEr]

Walshy is only going well because he is back on the speights!

[GAFFA]

Lawrence to referee Wallabies quarterfinal

New Zealanders are bemoaning the appointment of Welsh referee Nigel Owens for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final, but Australia may have more to fear.

Kiwi whistle-blower Bryce Lawrence will control their sudden-death showdown with South Africa in Wellington on Sunday, just three weeks after his controversial display in the Wallabies' surprise loss to Ireland in the pool stages.

Apart from penalising Australia's scrum five times for collapsing, decisions that ultimately allowed Jonny Sexton and Ronan O'Gara to boot Ireland to a 15-6 victory, Lawrence's officiating of the breakdown was at times puzzling.

In David Pocock's absence with a back injury, Lawrence's latitude at the collision zone proved particularly costly for the Wallabies.

The breakdown has consistently been more of a "free-for-all" under the seasoned referee, making it difficult for harassed halfback Will Genia to feed the Wallabies backline with quick, clean ball.

While the Wallabies all tournament have refused to blame refereeing - or injuries - for less than convincing performances, Lawrence's display at Eden Park drew widespread criticism from fans and commentators alike.

Australia did beat South Africa 14-9 in Durban and minnows Russia 68-22 under Lawrence, but in his three Tests in charge this year they have been heavily punished.

The total count stands at 34-19 against.

The Wallabies have also finished on the wrong side of the penalty count in three of their four pool games and know they must be extremely disciplined in the highly-physical contest.

South Africa have lost injured centre Frans Steyn - and his ability to slot goals from 60 metres out - but regardless the Wallabies know they can ill-afford to be penalised against the kick-happy Springboks.

Skipper James Horwill flatly denied the Wallabies would be pushing the boundaries at the breakdown in the comfort of Steyn's absence.

With the tournament's leading pointscorer Morne Steyn in great goalkicking form, the Springboks still have the ability to punish the Wallabies for their every infringement.

"Morne Steyn is a fantastic kicker and I think his record in this tournament is pretty high," Horwill said.

"So you've got to be aware that their goalkicking ability across the board is pretty strong with or without Frans Steyn.

"You've got to have that in the back of your mind, that you can't give away silly penalties to allow them free points with kicks at goals."

Interestingly, Lawrence is one of three southern hemisphere referees appointed by the IRB to control the four quarter-finals.

Welshman Owens, under fire for last weekend's performance in the Boks' 13-5 win over Samoa, is the only northern appointment with the likes of Irishman Alain Rolland and Englishman Wayne Barnes overlooked.

Barnes is still a reviled figure in New Zealand for his ghastly miss of a French forward pass four years ago which led to the All Blacks' 2007 quarter-final demise.

There would have been some relief from the tournament hosts when he was overlooked on Monday, but it was not celebrated.

"Oh no, we've got Nigel," was a headline in New Zealand's Fairfax Newspapers.

South African Craig Joubert will control Saturday's opening between Ireland and Wales, while Kiwi-born Australian Steve Walsh will referee England versus France.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...-quarterfinal/

[robyn <3]

Sorry, Bryce Lawrence is a twat, but good God he could hardly be considered half the problem with our jelly spine-ed front row catastrophe.

I think we should be happy to have him, we've had 2 (3?) matches so far this world cup under him, we SHOULD be able to adjust our game to his refereeing and interpretations and shiz.

Nigel Owens is useless though.

[GIGS20]

Sorry, Bryce Lawrence is a twat, but good God he could hardly be considered half the problem with our jelly spine-ed front row catastrophe.

I think we should be happy to have him, we've had 2 (3?) matches so far this world cup under him, we SHOULD be able to adjust our game to his refereeing and interpretations and shiz.

Nigel Owens is useless though.

We've been saying we SHOULD be able to adjust to redding styles for years Robyn.....still see no evidence though