I really, really hope that the IRB sorts out the scrums. I am now convinced there isn't a single referee on the elite list who actually knows the laws. Owens made an absolute shocker in the last scrum of the NZ/Ire game, which pretty much handed NZ the win, and then both Rollaind and Walsh failed spectacularly with the first SA try in the Boks/eng game. Two very crucial decision cost both teams. Ireland lost the game, England were put on the back foot after 3 minutes.
I thought Ireland were superb. NZ were handed a get-out-of-jail-free-card with that decision, Completely dominated in the scrum, losing at the breakdown, clattered in the tackle, they were a shadow of the side we saw last week. just goes to show that if you get in their faces and harrass them they crumble quite easily. Fair play to Carter though, he still had to nail that drop goal, even if it did take him two attempts.
I thought England were better,but you cant conded 12 points in 8 minutes and then seriously think you are going to win the match. If the scrum had been reffed right then that try wouldn't have stood, but there was an air of inevitability about the first 2 minutes,so I think they would have scored soon after anyway. 25-10 is not a halftime scoreline anyone is coming back from, regardless of how good the second half comeback is.
Thought we made some poor decisions at key times, and some things just didn't go our way. If Ben Foden's little chip had gone over Steyn's head and not straight to him, that could have put momentum truly on our side. as it happens 5 minutes later and they seal it.
Pieterson can go jump off a bridge as well, I hate arrogant showboating like that, it doesn't belong in the game.