“Send the police in, there is a robbery in progress at Wellington Stadium!” shouted one of my mates on Sunday as, heartbroken, we watched South Africa's chances of becoming the first team to defend their Rugby World Cup go up in smoke.
“Send the police in, there is a robbery in progress at Wellington Stadium!” shouted one of my mates on Sunday as, heartbroken, we watched South Africa's chances of becoming the first team to defend their Rugby World Cup go up in smoke.
Watching the match on the big screen of a pub full of South African supporters and friends, one could not help but be hooked into the emotional rollercoaster as the lead changed hands and the mood changed.
When Australian captain James Horwill crashed over for the first and only try of the match, speculation began about who would be made the scapegoat. On whom could shattered fans place the burden of their bitterness?
Morne Steyn, with his lack of flair in attack and bad positioning that starved the backline of opportunity for any attacking ball, made him a target. But his trusted boot kept the Boks in the game and, at one point, a drop goal by him gave the Boks the lead. So making him the fall guy would have been unfair.
The coaching staffs' tactic of starting with non-performing players like Bryan Habana, John Smit and Pierre Spies, instead of Francois Hougaard, Bismarck du Plessis and Willem Alberts, who had clearly shown their worth in the World Cup so far, was definitely a target.
“I don’t understand this tactic of South Africa starting with the weak players,” said one of the fellows sitting at the table next to mine, as the game changed with the introduction of those players.
But ultimately the performance of the referee on the day, Bryce Lawrence, makes it easy to pin down what some shocked supporters consider the crime of the decade, if not the century. His policing of the breakdown area was shocking. It turned it into a lottery and most of the 50/50 calls went Australia's way.
A local referee said he was concerned at the fact that it seemed like there was "a new set of rules played yesterday" that he didn't know about.
"The penalty that lost us the match was correctly awarded," said Sindile Ngcese, an accredited Eastern Province Rugby Union referee. "But there were similar offences (three or four) throughout the match that weren't given."
It was James O’Connor’s 71st-minute penalty kick that made the difference between the two teams. The win sees Australia taking on New Zealand in the semi-finals, in a repeat of the Tri-Nations final.
Another talking point from the encounter was the disallowed try of Patrick Lambie, called as a forward pass from Jean de Villers – another example of the tight calls favouring the Aussies.
The final whistle was greeted with silence and stricken expressions. Most people were in shock – even though coming into the match against Australia as underdogs had prepared Bok supporters for the worse possible fate ever… losing.
