ranger
First XV
I'm getting too old for this ****..
Two stats which stuck out to me was McCaw conceding 5 penalties at the tackle/ruck/maul area in one game. Now that is just ridiculous by anybody's judgement. Simply not justifiable.
The other being NZ's offside count. Playing the game offside is cynical. Offside = out of the play. Which therefore means interference with no intention letting the play flow. Which means they were trying to disadvantage a team or players ILLEGALLY. Hopefully that's cleared up.
Right away i don't trust these statistics, why? because i very clearly remember DAN CARTER getting pulled up for not rolling away fast enough in the tackle in that game, it was in the second half of the game, the Springboks where going left to right across the screen and Carter got penalized about 15 metres out from his line near the far touch line. McCaw was involved in the tackle but didn't do anything illegal and Carter was the one penalized. The referee called McCaw out (As the captain, not the perpetrator) and issued him with a team warning for redzone infringements.
Carter doesn't feature on this list of penalties, and that occasion has obviously been attributed to McCaw incorrectly. That was just one discrepancy i can see off the top of my head, how many more are there? In conclusion, bullshit mate.
Also, what is PDVs Springboks going to do with quick ball anyway? they seem to have their heart set on slowing the game down to their own benefit and kicking the ball for percentages, Victor Matfield had a whinge the other day about the All Blacks throwing the ball into the lineout too quickly, which went against his tactic of slowing the lineout down to a screeching halt. The All Blacks are smaller and more mobile, if anyone wants the game to flow its them.