Even the TMO missed this grub act from Etzebeth
So Eben Etzebeth’s try was clearly illegal and honest Springboks fans know it. First off, it’s clearly a knock-on from Faf de Klerk. No question. An error but not an act of a willful cheating.
But the worse part is what Eben does.
You can’t play the ball on the ground. It’s one of the most fundamental Laws in the game, yet when a loose ball pops into Eben’s hands as he kneels on the ground before he flops over the try line, the try is allowed?
Will Rassie Erasmus make a video about this one I wonder?
It was a dog act from Eben and we would have expected that he own up to the referee, telling Angus Gardner that he was on his knees. Sadly, that didn’t happen.
We’re not sure how the TMO missed it. Andy Goode was taken aback by the decision. “Eddie Jones is currently making a Rassie video about how Etzebeth’s try should never have been allowed. It’s either the knock on or a penalty for playing the ball on the floor. Was the TMO in the toilet or the biscuit tin at that point?!”
Eddie Jones is currently making a Rassie video about how Etzebeth’s try should never have been allowed. It’s either the knock on or a penalty for playing the ball on the floor. Was the TMO in the toilet or the biscuit tin at that point?! pic.twitter.com/GjhNEbUb6f
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) November 26, 2022
Maro Itoje bravely confronted Etzebeth over the incident and successfully rag-dolled him like he did in the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa. Itoje has cleverly let Eben hog the limelight in 2022 but just wait until the Rugby World Cup next year in France. Maro will return to his very best!
The sad thing is thought that Rassie’s plan to undermine and pressure referees is working. Would TMO Ben Whitehouse [god love him, he tries] have stepped in when he knows he’ll feel the social media wrath of the rabid Bokke fans? It’s hard to know.
We’re not saying this is what happened of course, but on a sub conscious level this might have been what happened. Who knows.
