While most rugby fans around the globe were overjoyed with the spectacle on show in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final between France and South Africa, those in the French setup had a number of complaints in the direct aftermath of the game.
The match was played at a ferocious pace, one that was difficult to comprehend at times. Referee Ben O'Keefe played a big part in allowing that to unfold, although some in the host nation have questioned a number of decisions he made on the day.
Antoine Dupont was among those to criticise his performance after the fixture, with one former official now pointing a big decision he felt went against France.
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Rugby: Poite says South Africa lucky to avoid red card against France
Nobody wants to see a red card given in a big fixture such as this one, especially early on in the game. However, ex-referee Romain Poite feels that South Africa were very fortunate not to have a man sent off just 16 minutes into their win over France.
The incident in question involved Pieter-Steph du Toit, who cleared out a ruck in a questionable manner. In the footage below, you can see the flanker going off his feet and making contact with the head of Jonathan Danty, with the Frenchman then punished for playing the ball on the ground.
Du Toit should have left the pitch at 16' pic.twitter.com/zHfmKT2a3H
— CapaRaza (@CapaRaza) October 18, 2023
It went unpunished at the time.
Speaking to Midi Olympique, Romain Poite said that this could have been a red card based on the current laws of the game.
Danty is rightly penalised for playing the ball on the ground without being on his feet and is on the ground without having possession of the ball.
The South African 7 (Du Toit), who wants to clean very low, comes into direct contact with Danty’s head with his head, without really controlling his posture. Which, in the eyes of the rules, could (should!) have largely merited a red card.
A red card here certainly would have changed the dynamic of the game, making South Africa huge underdogs to secure the result if they had been playing with 14 men for the majority of the match.
From a France point of view, they would likely point to this as one big call that Ben O'Keefe might have got wrong on the day.
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