The Springboks suffered a second straight defeat on their November tour of Europe on Saturday when they lost 30-26 to France.
It follows the previous week’s 19-16 defeat by Ireland in Dublin. And, the Boks are next up against Italy, who surprised Australia on Saturday and then they face England at Twickenham in their last tour game.
The SA A side also lost in the week, against Munster in Cork, and they still have to face Bristol this week.
Controversial try
While the Boks’ fightback and character playing with 14 men for most of the game in Marseille on Saturday has widely been praised, many have questioned some of the decisions made by referee Wayne Barnes of England.
The most-talked about incident was France’s final try, when Sipili Falatea went over from close range from a ruck with four minutes to play. TV replays suggested Falatea made a double movement to get the ball over the tryline, but most grating for Bok fans, was the fact that when Barnes and the television match official wanted to discuss the matter “communication” between the two broke down.
At that stage, the Boks had clawed their way back into the contest to lead 26-22 with four minutes to play.
It is not clear if there was any communication between the on-field officials and the men “upstairs” or if the “double movement” was closely looked at.
“How convenient that at such a crucial time and juncture in the match the comms breaks down” was the sentiment among many Bok fans.
SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus also seemed to question a few decisions in a social media post.
The incident-packed match saw Pieter-Steph du Toit red-carded early on for a head shot on Jonathan Danty, while France captain Antoine Dupont was also sent from the field for taking Cheslin Kolbe out in the air.
