Ex-Springboks Say Referee Matthew Carley Got 55th-Minute Scrum Call Wrong Against All Blacks
- Former Springbok forwards Schalk Burger and Hanyani Shimange challenged a key scrum penalty decision in the first Test at Ellis Park
- Replacement prop Gerhard Steenekamp was penalised by referee Matthew Carley in the 55th minute, a call both ex-players believe was incorrect
- Victor Matfield also questioned the decision, arguing the scrum dynamics pointed to a reset rather than a penalty against South Africa
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Former Springbok forwards Schalk Burger and Hanyani Shimange have challenged the refereeing decision that many believe shifted the course of the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand at Ellis Park, arguing that a 55th-minute scrum penalty against the Boks should have been called as a reset.
Replacement loosehead prop Gerhard Steenekamp was penalised by referee Matthew Carley for walking around the scrum, a ruling that came after South Africa had elected three times to scrummage from penalties. From that moment, the All Blacks seized momentum and ran out 33-16 winners to take the lead in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series opener.
Burger and Shimange Question the Call
Reviewing the passage of play on The Verdict podcast, both Burger and Shimange argued that Steenekamp had remained legally bound to hooker Malcolm Marx throughout the sequence.
"In my opinion, [Steenekamp] stays connected to the hooker," Shimange said.
Shimange agreed, pointing to the opposing tighthead as a contributing factor.
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"Because if you look on the other side, [George] Bower actually gets underneath [Wilco] Louw, so the scrum actually turns like that. It's not forward dominance from New Zealand. That, for me, is a reset, if anything."
Burger described the ruling as the turning point of the match, referencing the tactical approach the Boks had been employing.
Matfield Echoes Scrum Analysis
Former Bok lock Victor Matfield raised similar concerns on the Rugby Rivals podcast, focusing on the angle of Bower's approach as the root cause of the scrum's collapse.
Source: Briefly News
