England’s Karl Dickson came in for heavy criticism from Springbok supporters and pundits following his performance in the Rugby Championship Test between South Africa and New Zealand in Auckland on Saturday.
Join RUCK’s Instagram broadcast channel and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.
The 43-year-old was at the centre of controversy during the 80 minutes at Eden Park, with several decisions leaving players, fans and commentators frustrated as the All Blacks claimed a 24-17 victory.
Post-match, SuperSport’s punditry team of Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Breyton Paulse all questioned some of the calls made by the match official.
Dickson was assisted by Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Jordan Way (Australia). Brett Cronan (Australia) acted as TMO, while France’s Eric Gauzins was the Foul Play Review Officer (FPRO).
Social media reaction:
One supporter wrote:
“Karl Dickson should be embarrassed. Worst performance by him ever. Total f***ing disaster of an official.”
Another added:
“Oh, Karl Dickson can blow up forward passes?! Only if it’s the Boks though! #NZLvRSA”
A third was equally frustrated:
“Karl Dickson let the All Blacks get away with murder. Awful inconsistency in how he applied the laws.”
“Shambolic” – Four Springboks stars who flopped against the All Blacks at Eden Park
The Springboks, however, were far from their best, with several stars failing to fire.
#1. Handre Pollard
RUCK 5/10: “South Africa’s fly-half had an uneven night, mixing moments of brilliance with glaring errors. He opened the scoring with a straightforward penalty and delivered a world-class 50:22 late in the first half, demonstrating his tactical kicking ability. Yet, his defensive tackling was poor, he missed another kick at goal, and threw a dreadful pass into touch. Despite his experience, Pollard failed to galvanise a flat Bok attack, leaving his performance defined more by inconsistency than control.”
Planet Rugby 3/10: “His sloppy pass put the Springboks under early pressure, and while he recovered to pepper the All Blacks’ backfield and put New Zealand under pressure. However, this was far from a vintage Pollard performance despite flashes of brilliance. His passing accuracy was wayward, and in some way that was due to what he was receiving from the under-pressure Williams.”
The South African 6/10: “The flyhalf didn’t get much ball on the front-foot and that is because the Springboks’ forwards were outmuscled and ultimately outplayed. He knocked over his first attempt at goal, but his flawless kicking streak came to an end when he skewed his second attempt at goal.”
Summary: Pollard showed flashes of brilliance with tactical kicks, but inconsistency and defensive lapses defined his night.
Like this:
Like Loading…