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NZ pundit's withering response to those calling Bledisloe cards 'soft'
By Ian Cameron
New Zealand pundit and commentator Scotty Stevenson has Tweeted the perfect repost to those calling the red cards handed out during Bledisloe IV 'soft'.
A fiery contest in Queensland saw a number of questionable hits being delivered on either side of the ball. Australia's Lachlan Swinton was red-carded, not long after New Zealander tighthead Ofa Tu’ungafasi, who was given his marching orders for a high tackle.
It inevitably led to criticism on Twitter, with many calling the decisions soft and saying that they had ruined the game. However, well regarded New Zealander rugby pundit Stevenson was quick to put them back in their place with a withering rebuke.
"The amount of people calling these cards ‘soft’ who would never have the ability to play pro rugby for a living...
"It’s okay for referees to protect people’s livelihoods/brains while still letting superior athletes entertain you, sitting on your ass, drinking beers."
'Sumo' defended the decisions, writing: "Honestly. The law is clear. An All Black would have to pull a gun for Marshy to call foul play."
Needless to say plenty didn't agree with his take on it. One Tweeter posted: "Is the Ref your cousin or something?" to which Stevenson replied:
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Latest Comments
There's no easy fix here. From a geography standpoint, South Africa is kind of on an island alone in the rugby world, much like Argentina.
They don't have enough talent to have a top tier domestic league of their own, and it won't support the union financially. Best case you could hope for would be the five extant franchises (including Cheetahs) and perhaps a team from Namimbia. Gives you a 6 team league, that's not enough. Plus again, it's just not financially sustainable either.
At the same time, it's not really great for them to be involved in either the European or the Pacific rugby set up. That said, as bad as the travel is, at least Europe makes more sense from a time zone perspective. I still think it's the least bad option. Also has done wonders for the URC.
I don't think though, that it makes very much sense to have 4 teams from the URC excluded from European qualification. Not to mention, being able to compete in the Champions Cup was a big draw for the South African clubs anyway.
So yeah, I don't really see a change that makes more sense than the less than ideal situation that already exists.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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