England v Australia: Hooper and Pocock can benefit at breakdown with Jerome Garces as referee
The sign of a good refereeing performance tends to be that they have gone unnoticed throughout the match. But so far at this Rugby World Cup, officials have been in the spotlight more often than organisers would have desired.
Referee Jerome Garces and television match official (TMO) Ben Skeen are two figures to have been caught in that limelight, and yesterday’s appointment of officials for this weekend’s quarter-finals revealed that both will be involved for England’s showdown with Australia on Saturday in Oita.
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Frenchman Garces was heavily criticised for his performance during New Zealand’s win over South Africa as he and his assistants failed to pull up players on a number of incidents, notably around the breakdown.
Skeen, meanwhile, was the TMO as Wales beat Australia 29-25, and both were involved in Wales’s 29-17 victory over Fiji in which there were four yellow cards – and Ken Owen was lucky not to see red.
Criticism
The fallout has seen the pair, particularly Kiwi Skeen, feel the wrath of Australians, with former Wallaby Drew Mitchell calling for him to be dropped.
“In every game that he has been the TMO at this Rugby World Cup, he thinks the World Cup has been put on for Ben Skeen,” Mitchell said.
While the appointment of Skeen as TMO may sit uneasily with Australians, the decision to select Garces – widely viewed as one of the game’s more lenient referees – comes as a surprise given World Rugby’s stated desire to clamp down on high-risk tackles and dangerous play.
The governing body said it had conducted a “full review” into the performances of referees during the pool stages, with World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont labelling those selected for this weekend’s matches “the best of the best”.
However, Eddie Jones may feel differently. The leeway Garces has tended to afford sides, particularly at the breakdown, could be a cause of concern for England.
Breakdown
Aussie skipper Michael Hooper and fellow flanker David Pocock are among the best in the business at the breakdown and getting their hands on the ball.
They have not yet produced their best at this World Cup – Pocock conceded three penalties against Fiji and failed to register a single clean turnover against Wales – but the appointment of Garces may strengthen head coach Michael Cheika’s conviction that Pocock is still the right man for the job.
The pair’s experience could prove crucial in the battle on the ground against the younger duo of Sam Underhill and Tom Curry, who are likely to line up against them.
It is certainly an area of the game the Wallabies can look to exploit and, with 180 Test match appearances between Pocock and Hooper, the pair can be expected to use every trick in the book to see how much Garces is willing to let go.
As former Saracens director of rugby and World Cup-winning South African international Brendan Venter wrote on social media yesterday: “The big question this morning is which coach will be most worried after the referee appointments have been made for the quarter-finals? My guess, Eddie.”
Hooper has previous when it comes to facing England. The 27-year-old was cited following Australia’s win at Twickenham during the 2015 World Cup for clearing Mike Brown out of a ruck with his shoulder on their way to a 33-13 win.
Ill-disciplined
While Hooper has yet to land himself in hot water at this tournament, the Wallabies have shown a lack of discipline, receiving three yellow cards in their last two matches, against Georgia and Uruguay.
Australia’s Reece Hodge was also cited for his high tackle on Peceli Yato in their opening fixture with Fiji and has since served a three-game ban.
Against Wales there were no cards but the award of a penalty against Samu Kerevi for leading with his arm to fend off what looked like a high tackle from fly-half Rhys Patchell incensed Cheika.
“It was pretty funny because I thought I had seen that tackle before, it could have been Reece Hodge, I am not sure,” Cheika said sarcastically after the game. “As a former player, I am embarrassed here. I honestly don’t know the rules anymore.”
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It would be more surprising if there was no mention of refereeing at Jones’s and Cheika’s press conferences tomorrow, such is the dominance of the debate around it – and the usual back and forth between the former team-mates, which is still waiting to boil over.
England will still be favourites to beat an ageing Australia – they have won their last six meetings – but the reduced likelihood of penalties being conceded by the defensive side at the breakdown and in scrums will, on paper at least, lend an advantage to Australia.