England\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Join RUCK\u2019s Instagram broadcast channel\u00a0<\/a>and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Post-match, SuperSport\u2019s punditry team of Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Breyton Paulse all questioned some of the calls made by the match official.<\/p>\n Dickson was assisted by Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Jordan Way (Australia). Brett Cronan (Australia) acted as TMO, while France\u2019s Eric Gauzins was the Foul Play Review Officer (FPRO).<\/p>\n Social media reaction:<\/p>\n One supporter wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cKarl Dickson should be embarrassed. Worst performance by him ever. Total f***ing disaster of an official.\u201d<\/p>\n Another added:<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Karl Dickson can blow up forward passes?! Only if it\u2019s the Boks though! #NZLvRSA\u201d<\/p>\n A third was equally frustrated:<\/p>\n \u201cKarl Dickson let the All Blacks get away with murder. Awful inconsistency in how he applied the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShambolic\u201d \u2013 Four Springboks stars who flopped against the All Blacks at Eden Park<\/p>\n The Springboks, however, were far from their best, with several stars failing to fire.<\/p>\n #1. Handre Pollard<\/p>\n RUCK 5\/10:\u00a0\u201cSouth Africa\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Planet Rugby 3\/10:\u00a0\u201cHis sloppy pass put the\u00a0Springboks\u00a0under early pressure, and while he recovered to pepper the All Blacks\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The South African 6\/10:\u00a0\u201cThe flyhalf didn\u2019t get much ball on the front-foot and that is because the Springboks\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0Pollard showed flashes of brilliance with tactical kicks, but inconsistency and defensive lapses defined his night.<\/p>\n CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO<\/a><\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n