against Ireland.
England lost there opening Six Nations game against Ireland, in a result that shocked nobody but yet again we saw some shocking decisions by a ref that loves to be the centre of attention.
47th minute: Some pushing and shoving
47th minute: O’Keefe wants to talk to both captains… “I’m gonna make it clear and simple OK”… he then explains he’s not going to have that – the pushing and shoving – after he’s blown the whistle… “anyone that runs in… push and they’re off”. It was simple and clear.
62nd minute: A high ball is taken by the Irish player and he’s taken in the air by an English player. Whistle goes. Penalty to Ireland. Ireland’s James Lowe rushes in and starts pushing.
O’Keefe decides that no, he’s not going to yellow card the player as he said he would. Funny how he warned Itoje about England giving away penalties earlier in the game and warned him the next one would see a yellow and sure enough, Smith saw yellow for the next infringement. Maybe the instruction was only actually aimed at England players.
63rd minute: Lowe lays on Ireland’s next try.
72nd minute: Lowe lays on Ireland’s next try.
Two tries in the 10 minutes he would have been off the pitch. time when England would have only been facing 14 minutes and were just 3 points down.
Now they might have conceded in that 10 minutes, they might have carried on giving up stupid penalties, or being penalised for nothing. The might have still lost but it ended 27-22, those two tries were pivotal, as was Lowe’s presence on the pitch during that 10 minute period.