Ex-England prop weighs in on Springboks' match-deciding scrum penalty
Former England, Saracens and Bath prop David Flatman has weighed in on the decision to award South Africa a game-deciding penalty in the latter stages of the Rugby World Cup semi-final.
Referee Ben O’Keeffe awarded the Boks the penalty just inside England’s half in the 77th minute, with Handre Pollard stepping up to kick South Africa into the lead for the first time in the match and secure their passage to the final.
The decision has been hotly debated since the final whistle, with many believing that England should have got the penalty because of the angle that Bok prop Vincent Koch was scrummaging at.
Correct decision
However, Flatman believes that O’Keeffe made the correct call and highlighted the actions of England loosehead prop Ellis Genge, which resulted in Koch’s angle.
“So people are saying the penalty was just for [Genge’s] knee down, it wasn’t just for knee down,” Flatman explained on ITV’s Rugby World Cup Podcast.
“I’ve heard the audio, I got it on my Twitter, it was knee down and then driving in, so Ben O’Keeffe, the ref, said that Ellis Genge instigated that angle.
“If Ellis Genge instigates it, his angle will always look worse than the tighthead’s because he’s shoving the tighthead in.
“The next question that Ben O’Keeffe has to process in all this is this is a highly illegal angle, highly inappropriate angle. What are the odds – this is where the other four or five scrums before that come into play – what are the odds that the South Africans are cheating in order to escape the power of the England scrum and get away with it?
“He’s thinking they don’t need to cheat because they’re dominant, they are the dominant team; who is more likely to be trying to do something different in order to survive? It’s the team that’s been under the pump, so it is relevant what’s happened before.
“And in my opinion as a, you know an ex-prop, and I could be wrong, I absolutely could be wrong. I’ve read columns from experts who’ve spoken to international props and who are better than me, and they have said it was the wrong decision.
“In my opinion, it was the correct decision; Ellis Genge hits, and his knee goes down, but he gets himself back up, and if you just watch before that ball comes in.
“If you just watch that millisecond, Ellis Genge goes knee down, knee back up, and he just asserts himself about 6 or 8 inches forward, and he just gets himself in a nice position and nudges Vincent Koch on the angle a little bit, which for my money, means – and by the way, I’m English I kind of try and be neutral, I desperately want England to win that game and I’m probably Ellis Genge’s biggest fan – however, I think he instigates that angle.
“I think all this scrutiny that Ben O’Keeffe has given, I don’t love. I think it was the right decision, and I think the aerial snapshot is dangerous because it tells us almost nothing.”
Front-row union agree
Fellow former England prop Alex Corbisiero agreed with Flatman’s analysis of the scrum.
“All valid points mate and it’s such small margins that decide it,” he wrote in reply to a clip of the podcast on X, formerly Twitter.
“Those last little inches from Genge are definitely a factor, as well as alignment/shoulder angles on both sides from the set up. It’s good to get replays of it. Something refs don’t get the luxury of. Love your work always.”
Former Springboks prop BJ Botha also agreed that the correct decision was made.
His post on X read: “For the record here’s a still shot before the ball comes in, Ben got this spot on with Genge’s knee on the ground, penalty every time. The reason for the penalty is that this knee on the ground gives the L-head a big advantage on height, hence not legal.”
