Liam Dunseath: A Response

The preamble to the first Test between the British and Irish Lions and the defending World Champions the All Blacks has degenerated into an A&E crisis for the Lions with their ever faithful media doing their best to camouflage the unavailability of some key players. Stuart Hogg has gone home after being reverse clotheslined by Connor Murray, and Owen Farrell has a quadriceps strain. Courtney Laws came off second best while trying to head Waisake Naholo’s shoulder clear, and Leigh Halfpenny also had an HIA after an unscheduled meeting with Lima Sopoaga.

With the writing on the wall being in black ink, rather than red, it’s not surprising that the referees are becoming the focal point. Both camps though are equally guilty of this, in a manifestation of the North/South divide of the globe, and with it, international rugby philosophies. This series is more than a clash between two teams. It is a clash between cultures; one that loves to run, and the other that loves to smash into things.

The men that police the game are also of a similar bent. Some who appreciate the technical aspect of the game and insist on them to the point of boring pedantry, and those that appreciate that some breaches of the law are less ‘material’, than others.

There’s a video doing the rounds compiled by a Northern Hemisphere analyst named Liam Dunseath, where he credits referee Angus Gardner with the Highlanders’ win against the Lions midweek team. Apparently the referee’s mistakes cost the Lions the win.

With the greatest respect to Mr. Dunseath, who has coached sevens at international level (the Iranian team, no less) and was a member of Eddie Jones’ back room staff, it is possible to see the mistakes in a different light. Dunseath makes some valid points, and in order to counter those points it’s also important to consider a viewpoint that is not clouded with mist the same colour as the Lions’ jersey and their wearers’ faces after losing to a veritable Highlanders ‘B’ team.

With several of the Otago franchises’ players off on All Blacks and All Black Maori duty, the side that turned up on Tuesday was hastily put together and not expected to trouble the might Lions who put away the Crusaders a few days before. Gatland picked, from his treasure trove of riches, a team that was more than capable of beating any Club side. Yet, despite the best efforts of those international stars, Mr. Dunseath would have us believe it was Angus Gardner who changed the game.

He analyses several instances in his video.  While agreeing with the basis of his observations, it is also necessary to provide context and alternative view. Hearing the other side of any situation, is a good habit. And while the Southern Hemisphere rugby players are certainly a cut above, the position is inverted, when comparing journalists from opposite ends of the world.

1.  Lawes Offside – the first grouse Mr. Dunseath has is that Courtney laws is never offside. There is also a graphic at the top of the rugbypass.com column which is aimed at proving this. However, what the straight line drawn in the graphic shows, is not that Lawes was not offside, but that the Lions were never ON side. The line that is drawn in the graphic goes straight through the ball which is the half back’s hands. That, Mr. Dunseath, is not the offside line. None of the Lions, Lawes included, are behind the last foot on your own evidence. Lawes did not advance incrementally, he flew up from a standing start which shows he started well in front of the hindmost foot. The entire defensive line was offside which is why Gardner moved the penalty to where the ruck was, and did not award it where Lawes actually took off from. Please have a fresh look at it. I was inclined to agree with you, till you drew the line. In the grass. The place the scrum half picks the ball up from is not where the offside line begins.

2. Ainley Obstruction – There is a ruck 5m out from the Lions’ line. The half back passes it back about 7 or 8 metres to Waisake Naholo who runs in almost untouched. The Highlanders’ second row Alex Ainley is standing at first receiver well wide of the break down but almost directly in front of Naholo. This is not an offence as he is behind the ball. Naholo takes the pass well behind Ainley who moves towards, and admittedly does get in the way of Robbie Henshaw the would-be defender. Mr. Dunseath would have us believe that this is dead-cert obstruction. He has a case. However, the referee consults the TMO and rules that Henshaw probably wouldn’t have got there in time. It’s Naholo, he probably wouldn’t, given the amount of space the winger had. Also Henshaw chose a  line going inside Ainley rather than outside. So even if Ainley had stood still he wouldn’t have got a good enough shoulder on Naholo who would certainly have gone outside him. It was poor defending and duly punished. The man most to blame is probably Jared Payne who lost his defensive alignment with the rushing Henshaw inside him. What’s important is that Gardner noticed it, checked it, and made a call. The fact that his opinion is different is fine, given that it is certainly not an unreasonable decision. The try would probably have been scored. Referees are not on the park to bail out poor defensive decisions by applying technicalities.

3. Rhys Webb Pass – Dunseath argues that Ainley’s lazy running forced this error from the Lions’ Welsh scrum half. From the footage, it is not clear if the breakdown from which Rory Best clears the ball is a ruck or just a tackle. If it is the latter there is no offside line. Since there are no bodies contesting the three Lions flopping over the ball, it is difficult to tell from this video whether Ainley was actually offside or not. Assuming he WAS offside, the Webb pass was to nobody in particular. In fact, it looks like he may have been trying to pass it to Ainley and milk a penalty under the posts. The ball is well in front of his support runner and well short of the next man. Ainley is allowed to get back onside, and Gardner deemed he was far enough away not to impact things. Webb stuffed up. Henshaw knew it. The Lions’ – especially their half backs – are not averse to a little whinge, and we didn’t see Webb insisting on Ainley’s offside. The non-conspiratorial alternative, is that the scrum half just stuffed up.

4. Dillon Hunt Entry – This is a really interesting one. Hunt is the tackler before the ruck is formed. The arriving Lions clean out the Highlanders 12 and the ruck lasts barely a second or two. Now a ‘ruck’ is when two or more players are bound over the ball on the ground. As soon as the clean out went beyond the ball, the ruck was over. Does Dillon Hunt then, being the tackler, have to come back through the gate, or can he play the ball from where he stood? The grouse here is that he may not have been within one metre of the tackle to enter. Dunseath has a point, but it’s not as obvious as he’d like us to believe. Hunt doesn’t ‘enter the ruck from the side’. There is no ruck when he enters. It’s a grey area of the law, and certainly wasn’t a game changing call.

5. Dan Cole Scrum Penalty  – Scrum penalties are a lottery. That is accepted fact. However, in this case, serial offender Dan Cole is hardly an innocent babe. Mr. Dunseath would have us believe that Aki Seiuli was solely responsible for the penalty that went the wrong way. He accuse replacement loosehead Seiuli of dropping his bind and ‘hinging’, where a player bends at the waist collapsing the scrum. While we will never know what actually happened, the evidence gives us some clues. The tighthead, i.e. – Cole, is expected to bind on the arm of the loosehead. Cole, typically, goes just under the armpit and on the jersey of his opposite. It’s true that Seiuli goes to ground. However, if a player hinges, he must bend from the waist. If he does that in the propping position then it is the opposite player that will go to ground first because he is pushing forward against a weight that collapses against away from him. In this instance Seiuli goes forward under Cole. You can also see Dan Cole’s arm pull backward on Seiuli forcing him into a twist. Watch the video, watch Coles’ forearm. If you are genuinely pushing forward, that sort of a pull back is not possible. Cole is going sideways and pulling the loosehead with him. The tell-tale sign is when the Highlander’s jersey gets pulled upwards towards his arm. His movement is always towards – and not away from – Cole, and his jersey is also being pulled towards by Cole, who drags him inward. It is a master of the dark arts against a rookie replacement prop. Gardner had done his homework.

Mr. Dunseath is right to bring up these issues. However, they must be brought up for discussion and not as some evangelical crusade against the referee. None of the calls above were clearly and obviously wrong as the video and article suggest. Debatable, certainly. But not anywhere near worth crucifying Angus Gardner and blaming the Lions’ poor showing on him.