The South African Springboks celebrate their victory at the final whistle during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand. Photo / Getty.
The South African Springboks celebrate their victory at the final whistle during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand. Photo / Getty.
One of the world's most experienced rugby referees has questioned whether television producers helped the Springboks earn their match winning penalty against the All Blacks last weekend.
Former South African referee Jonathan Kaplan, who retired last year, discussed the contentious decision on his website ratetheref.co.za.
"The Boks dominatedthe first half, the All Blacks the second," Kaplan wrote.
"In the end, the game came down to a decision by the TV producer to highlight a misdemeanour by Liam Messam on Schalk Burger, which all the officials missed in real time.
"After finding the clip, and then replaying it over and over, eventually the match officials decided it was worthy of review, and correctly awarded a penalty to the Boks which Pat Lambie converted to win the game.
"The TMO himself seemed a bit confused by referring to the fact that he thought perhaps arms were used in the tackle, which was hardly the point. It was a swinging arm and a dangerous tackle.
"If you are a Bok supporter, you will be saying we deserved it, and how many times it happened against us. The protocol and process will mean nothing. But there is an important point to make here.
"I doubt (very much) whether that clip would have been brought up on the screen by producers in Australia or New Zealand and replayed over and over.
"Is it right that someone outside of the domain of the match officials can affect the outcome of a major test match? And how neutral is he?
"In the end, it was his alertness that drew the attention of the crowd to the high tackle, they got into it, the officials then decided to take a look, and the resultant penalty determined the outcome."
Kaplan also discussed the performance of Barnes, infamous in New Zealand following the All Blacks' 2007 World Cup quarterfinal loss to France.
"I thought Wayne Barnes had a decent match. He walks a lot. He talks a lot," Kaplan said, adding that the last-gasp penalty was "a brave call".
"But he let the game flow with the right amount of empathy and game management. He was even-handed in his approach. He is a superior communicator. And he is smart!
"He showed his experience in this toughest of environments when the reffing in this tournament has been quite ordinary, and deserves credit for that."
