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Wed 15 Jul 2015 | 01:43
Ed Morrison admits that Springboks probably scored try in 1995 World Cup Final

12
Comments

In the lead up to this year's World Cup, World Rugby are looking back at previous tournaments, and speaking to those figures that had a large influence on the game. On this occasion it's referee Ed Morrison, who analyses his own performence in the 1995 Final.

Morrison says of the huge occasion in '95 that he had to lock himself away from all the fanfare that went on in Johannesburg, and indeed around South Africa, in the lead up to the final.

"I never thought South Africa could win it because the All Blacks were so good at that stage," he said of the side that coasted to the final, with Jonah Lomu wreaking havoc along the way.

He also admits, twenty years after the final, that the late Ruben Kruger probably did actually score the try that he disallowed. "Nobody said anything, because they won!"

All points were therefore scored with the boot, as the Springboks won it 15-12 in extra time, thanks to a Joel Stransky drop goal after a back and forth kicking duel with Andrew Mehrtens.

It's an interesting interview, giving us great insight into the emotions and thoughts that a key figure on that historic day went through.

Posted By: Grant Constable

12 Comments

  • drg
    8:13 PM 20/07/2015

    I've been a bit too controversial recently, so I didn't want to go quite as far as telling it how I saw it... but yes... I 100% agree ;)

  • colombes
    9:54 AM 17/07/2015

    These old-fashion rules were stupid.
    It would have been a shame if France have been qualified in case of postponed or abandoned game.

    French fans haven't any bad feelings with this moment. French rugby lived many moments of injustice but also had others lucky games such like vs Wales in 2011, that's rugby.

    I'm not confident with France chances in this world cup, but a 3 months 'commando' preparation can often be more rich than 3 years of poor management.

  • eddie-g
    3:04 PM 16/07/2015

    The day after, there was a pretty good still picture showing his foot did brush the line just before he grounded the ball. And I mean, it just brushed the line, and fractionally before grounding. It was very very close.

    The issue, however, is that the TMO never got to see that. To me, he made the wrong decision given the evidence. The only saving grace is that it looked like a correct decision when the evidence he was hoping to see came in the next day.

  • eddie-g
    2:53 PM 16/07/2015

    It is biased, but I would still trust Dan Retief that this is an honest opinion.

    That said, probably no-one knows better than Benazzi if/where he grounded the ball... and even more to his credit, he has never made a big deal about it. In fact, pretty much every French rugby fan I've met, especially those who remember that moment, has no bad feelings about it. It's a huge credit to the fans, and they deserve a better rugby team than the one they've had the last few years.

    That game though, wow. Maybe the thing I remember best, and it's referred to in that linked article, is the doubt about if the game would go ahead or be abandoned. Both of which scenarios would have had France go through to the final.... and I now can't believe all that happened fully 20 years ago.

  • colombes
    12:40 PM 16/07/2015

    I also think Eddie-G was more questioning the video ref process than the decision itself, as Cueto foot slightly unfortunately or fortunately (whether u're bok or english) touched the line

  • reality
    11:44 AM 16/07/2015

    Hi Stroudos, I think Eddie-g is saying that Cueto didn't score. He was talking about bad camera angles being used, but he said that the fact that Cueto did put his foot in touch saved the referees' bacon.

    I actually don't see how he scored. Maybe English and non-English have different agendas and so we both see what we want to see, but for me his foot clearly brushes the line. Watching the replay, Stuart Barnes doesn't even entertain the thought that his foot brushed the line, making me think that his judgement was based on emotion rather than the video evidence. Is it not really obvious?

  • stroudos
    11:50 PM 15/07/2015

    Very decent of you to make this point Eddie. I agree, I think Cueto scored. However, I did feel if he had slid in along the ground (like Robinson in 03), rather than going for that slam-dunk action, he could have eliminated any doubt. (Easy for me to say from the comfort of my armchair of course).

  • eddie-g
    7:48 PM 15/07/2015

    I remember this very well... We all thought he'd scored too.

    But fair play to all concerned - Morrison couldn't see the grounding, made his decision, and everyone got on with the game.

    The worst decision, hands down, in a WC final was the decision not to award Cueto a try in 2007. The backstory is incredible, whoever the TMO was (Paul Honiss maybe), he was asking the French director for an angle from behind Cueto, which would give him the best view of when his foot went into touch. For whatever reason, language/incompetence/industrial-action, this angle wasn't given, and the TMO guessed that he'd put a foot in touch. He had been asked if there was any reason not to award the try, and he offered his hunch rather than looking at the evidence.

    That Cueto did in fact put a foot in touch is the only thing that saved this from becoming the most talked-about screw-up of all time.

  • eddie-g
    7:33 PM 15/07/2015

    Dan Retief, probably the best SA rugby journo of recent years, had this to say:

    "To this day, Benazzi and his teammates contend that it was a try, but while making the updated Springbok Saga series for SuperSport, I was able to study the footage in super slo-mo, time and again, and I have no doubt that Benazzi did not score."

    http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/details/when-boks-held-off-le-bleus-in-the-wet

  • reality
    7:24 PM 15/07/2015

    An occasional cock-up is to be expected, but handing the home team the final on a silver platter goes beyond an occasional cock-up. The referee's job is to handle pressure.

  • drg
    6:46 PM 15/07/2015

    I felt much the same, until I saw Jouberts performance in the last RWC final...

    Actually, to be fair, I still have some respect for him, I just reckon the pressure was too big. Maybe (m)any referee would have struggled.

  • guy
    4:56 PM 15/07/2015

    I can't possibly imagine the amount of stress and pressure these guys are under. Can't have anything else but the utmost respect for them, even if they cock up every now and then.

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