Owens had final say. He did not have to refer the first one to the TMO. I've seen those given more than not. Sorry but the ball was never lost forward.
Owens was rightly given stick after the match.
There have been a lot of disallowed tries in this year tournament after being referred to the TMO. It's now part of the modern game. You have to learn to live with it. No doubt without the TMO then both those tries would have stood.
I'm just hoping extensive use of the TMO at the top level makes players win thru tactics and skill, and no points are scored from professional fouls / illegal play etc, and that mindset filters down to the lower levels.
Whatever team wins or i'm supporting, i'd much rather win because they earned it, and not a bad ref call.
Interesting games though.England dominated the first half, controlled the second half, and NZ just couldn't score.Which after the early try, seemed to make them crumble.Just couldn't or wouldn't change tactics, and well that's the result.
In some ways it's what I thought might happen after Japan v SA, which kinda mirrored things.
Wales deserved to lose, as they looked the worse side (sorry), but a tight game still.
At least we can test the comments earlier in this thread about Wales crushing the All Blacks in the final data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
I just read that England could face a fine for their V shaped response to NZ's Haka. What a load of bollocks. I thought it was a brilliant response and good for England.data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Here's an interesting bit of trivia. When Wales faced the All Blacks in 1905 in Cardiff the team decided to respond to the Haka. Being Welsh they decided to sing to them and belted back the popular Welsh song My Hen Wlad fy Nhadau and crowd dutifully joining in. It was the first time that a 'National Anthem' had been sung by a team at any sporting event in the world.
Yeah, I read about that potential fine - what a load of crap. Why do NZ get the chance to fire themselves up and intimidate the opposition, but the opposition don't have the right to reply.
Don't get me wrong I love seeing the Haka, its iconic, but I also love seeing the opposition counter it, because if you do you need to be able to back it up !!
Each of the South-sea islands do their own, don't they? I really enjoy watching them. I'm all for respecting them (I wasn't impressed at the Irish fans who sang Fields of Athenry through it at the RWC), but feel they should be able to respond to the challenge.
A few years ago, Wales went through a spell of getting Wynne Evans (the Go Compare guy) to walk up the pitch after the Haka carrying a Welsh flag and singing (IIRC) Calon Lan. Don't know why that stopped.
Also, in 2006, the WRU had a dust-up with the ABs when they tried to get them to do the Haka before the anthems. The ABs declined, so the WRU said they weren't allowed to do it. So the ABs did it in the changing room before they came out - this was filmed and shown in the stadium on the big screens - caused a LOT iff confusion and no little anger amongst the crowd.
Also, in 2008, Wales stood static for the Haka and then refused to move at the end. Neither team budged for what felt like ages. Even the ref (Allan Rolland?) couldn't budge them... the atmosphere in the Millennium Stadium was absolutely electric. I heard an interview with Xavier Rush who reckoned that was his favourite Haka-experience.
Officials announced for Bronze Final and RWC Final:
FInal:
Referee:Jerome Garcès (France)
Asst. Referees: Romain Poite (France), Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand),
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Bronze FInal:
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Asst. Referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pascal Gaüzère (France) a
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Owens ruled himself out with an injury, apparently.
Feel for Barnes - He'd have almost certainly had the Final if England hadn't made it, and deservedly-so, IMO. I doubt he'll be around for 2023.
Lots of rubbish already social media about how Wales will have no chance because he (Barnes is useless, hates Wales and always favours the Kiwis. Similarly how much Garcès will be "got at" by SA, and how he never likes England...
I despair.... //static.avforums.com/styles/avf/smilies/facepalm.gif
https://www.avforums.com/attachments/fb_img_1572472380594-jpg.1213652/
So in the rules, does it say the other team has to watch the Haka
No, I don't think so (I believe at least one team has tried turning their backs), but it does say the opposition team must not encroach over the 1/2 way line. That's what the issue with England was, not the V-shaped formation itself.