I dont get you. We should ignore the referees performance because Argentina didnt get a penalty try against Ireland in November.
We didnt lose so its not sour grapes. Surely now is the perfect time to raise it?
Well, put it this way. In the beginning of the match, Ireland were under huge pressure at scrumtime and in the forwards generally. Argentina deserved a penalty try or at the very least an Irish prop in the bin. As it was, Ireland got the penalty, were able to clear their lines and Argentina had nothing to show for their considerable period of pressure. Had they scored and/ or had a man up, plus the advantage they deserved from having a superior scrum, the match could have turned out differently. Now, in the end Ireland proved a better side in every other aspect of the game, but Argentina's one advantage was removed by poor referreeing, which ruined any chance of a close match.
Now, Ireland are complaining about referreeing of the scrum. So if we assume the refereeing was at fault both times, they've benefitted once and lost out once. But there's so many other times when some of the many grey areas in the lawbook are controversially interpreted, we should accept that it's a part of the game.
I personally think Ireland haven't got a case with this particular game against Italy. I only saw the 1st half hour, but even in those scrums Ireland were under pressure. Were it the other way round, and Italy were under pressure, I'd have questions to ask, but surely Ireland knew they would give ground in the scrum - they were always going to trundle backwards whether Italy scrummaged illegally or not.
In Cian Healy, you have a good prop in the loose, but one who consistently goes backwards in international scrums. Mike Ross is a good tighthead, but when he was in the Prem, he was part of a Quins front row that was never dominant in the same way that, for example, Leicester were. His selection certainly improves the Irish scrum, but it doesn't suddenly haul it up to international standard. You're still weak in this area, and I'd expect everyone Ireland play in the 6N to dominate here.
If Ireland actually had a point then I'd be more sympathetic. But them blaming the referee for losing out at scrums is like Scots blaming the ref because they never score any tries (Paris excepted). It doesn't wash.
What I suspect this is all about is Kidney throwing a diversion from a poor Irish performance, a la Gatland.
