By Lucky Vince Pienaar
The match between the All Blacks and the Springboks at Ellis Park will be remembered for many years to come as a great Test match.
However, some decisions by the officials may very well have turned the match into a sorry memory for millions of fans around the world due to several poor decisions.
If ever a player deserved a try, it was Bongi Mbonambi—except his try in the early part of the match, by all accounts, was not a try. Replay after replay confirms that as Bongi went for the line, he lost control of the ball. How the television match official allowed the try is a mystery.
On the other hand, Sam Cane avoided a yellow card after a tackle on Siya Kolisi.
After a lineout, Kolisi was tackled around the waist by All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor. Sam Cane came in to assist Taylor but clattered into South Africa’s captain, executing the tackle.
Was it a high tackle? Well, Kolisi has a black eye to prove it, but there was no review.
Maybe it is some kind of justice. Mbonambi missed most of the 78 minutes of the World Cup final when Shannon Frizell deliberately and cynically sat down on his leg, almost ending his career. Frizell got away with a yellow card.
Sam Cane was red-carded at the World Cup and missed a great deal of the match.
Maybe justice has been served.
South Africa went on to win a nailbiter with a try by Grant Williams in the last few minutes that gave South Africa the victory.
The South African team for the second Test in Cape Town is expected to be announced on Tuesday.
Final score: South Africa 31-27 New Zealand.
Pictured above: The Springboks taking on the All Blacks.
Source: Springboks/X
