Scotland boss fires shots at Boks

11/11/2024 02:31 AM

Gregor Townsend rued the officiating in Sunday's loss for Scotland against the Springboks, while raising an eyebrow at the "cynical play" of the world champions,

The Scotland head coach has questioned several of the on-field calls in the 32-15 defeat at Murrayfield, particularly the red card shown to Scott Cummings for a dangerous cleanout on fellow lock Franco Mostert.

Cummings received a 20-minute red card in the 11th minute for a croc roll, though the Scots were allowed to replace him after serving the punishment under the current trial laws.

“At the time, I thought they had the wrong person,” Townsend was quoted post-match. “But there were massive mitigating circumstances.

"Scott was there to clear contact and the scrumhalf popped up as he was clearing contact, which took Scott off his feet. I thought it was a very harsh red.”

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Despite the setback, Townsend praised his team’s resilience while criticising the South Africans’ tactics.

“I thought it was one of our best performances of the last few seasons. To go up against the world champions, you’ve got to bring your physicality and match their physicality,” he explained.

“If you consider that we were down a man for 20 minutes and that man being a second rower, it takes a huge effort to get through that.”

Townsend also believed the Boks should have received additional punishment beyond Makazole Mapimpi’s yellow card.

“They were giving away a lot of penalties. There could’ve been a second yellow card when Ben White was taken out five metres from the line,” he added.

“It was cynical play five metres from the tryline and even if you have already been awarded a yellow card before, you have to look at the action.”

Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images

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