The strange way South Africa influenced the referee in the World Cup Final

Wednesday, 26 August 2020 at 20:36

bySteven Smith

The Springboks had a unique way of gaining favourable decisions from Jerome Garces as they triumphed against 32-12 in final, research has found.

'The research included analysis on how the referees blew games of rugby, from scrummaging to the dark arts at the breakdown and the offside line. But it went much deeper than that,' Burnard wrote in his book - in an excerpt published by SA Rugby Magazine.

'The level of detail in the refereeing reports included personality traits, all with the hope of finding an edge.

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South Africa ‘complimented referee Jerome Garces on his physical appearance' to get decisions at Rugby World Cup telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/20…

1:31 PM · Aug 26, 2020

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'The Springboks would role play at team meetings and at training sessions, practising what they would say to the match officials with the research in mind.

'The report compiled on Garces, for example, revealed that he responded well to being complimented on his physical appearance.

'If the match was fast-paced, the Boks would make a point of praising Garces on his condition and his ability to keep up with the players, hoping to rub him up the right way.'

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6 players who could have played for other countries but didn’t

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Here are five of the biggest stars who could have played for England, but didn’t.

1. James Haskell - Wales

The hulking England forward opened up about his Welsh heritage to BBC Wales. He said: “I’m actually half Welsh, and I’m fully Welsh qualified, so I could have quite happily played for Wales,”

2. Michael Hooper - England

He would have qualified to Play for England through his father, who was born and raised in Kent. Considered one of the world’s best flankers, the 99-cap flanker hit international headlines as he mastered the field alongside revered teammate David Pocock on the Rugby World Cup stage in 2015.

3. Jonathan Davies - England

A key man on two successful Lions tours, the leader of the Welsh back-line, and at the heart of the Scarlets revival. If there’s a player who can cut better lines than Davies then I’m yet to see him. Born in Solihull, arguably the best centre in the world could have played for England.

4. Martin Johnson - New Zealand

In 1989 he was approached by former All Black Colin Meads to try out for the King Country side in New Zealand. In 1990 he was even selected for the New Zealand under-21 side which went on a tour of Australia playing a side that included another of the all-time great lock forwards, John Eales. He eventually returned to England and thankfully represented them instead of the All Blacks.

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5. Hamish Watson - England

One of the most consistent back-rowers in the Six Nations, Watson has accumulated 32 caps since making his Scotland debut in 2015. The flanker was actually born in Manchester, making him eligible to play for England.

6. Dan Carter -Ireland

The 33-year-old has revealed in his newest book that if things were different, he may very well have played for the green of Ireland, rather than his native country. And it's all down to some undisclosed Irish blood on his father's side.