Frustrated WP boss takes aim at Currie Cup officials
REACTION: Western Province coach Jerome Paarwater was fuming at his side's treatment by the officials during their Currie Cup defeat to Griquas on Friday.
The WP made a fast start, taking a 35-19 lead at the break courtesy of five tries.
The hosts looked well on their way to a victory as they held a commanding 41-19 lead in the third quarter.
The key moment of the breathless battle, which produced 12 tries, came in the 58th minute when referee Morne Ferreira handed Ali Vermaak a yellow card following his cynical offence - the prop yanking centre Sango Xamlashe to the ground off the ball.
With the numeral advantage, the visitors rallied back from the brink of defeat by scoring four of their seven tries in the final quarter for the 43-41 win.
It was a devastating implosion for WP, who last recorded a win over the Griquas in 2020.
"It is very disappointing and it has been like that the whole season," WP coach Jerome Paarwater told reporters following the defeat in Stellenbosch.
“However I don’t think we deserve to lose the match. I don’t ever blame the referee, but I'm not afraid to point the finger at the officials.”
Paarwater admitted his team’s defence, especially in the midfield, was also a contributing factor.
However, he could not contain his discontentment with the referees.
“At times I know our defence in the midfield was bad. While Ali Vermaak’s yellow card was unnecessary, he made a silly individual error which was disappointing.
“However, as I said we did not deserve to lose. At the end of the match, we alerted the referee and his assistant of a case of pre-binding and it should have been a penalty for us.
“Furthermore, I can’t even count how many forward passes [by Griquas] the referee missed.
“And yes the whole year we have been stating we are not performing well. However, we did all our planning and then the referee comes in the second half and in just two minutes give numerous penalties to the opposition.
“There is a list of decisions that were questionable, like when Griquas flyhalf Goerge Whitehead knocked the ball forward prior to the try and then we not getting an advantage at times.
"Every week we send them clips and complaints about these incidents. However, it does not change.
“The referees are untouchable, they are allowed do to whatever they want to do.”
WP captain Tim Swiel opted not to blame the referee and instead tried to find the positives.
“The Griquas received more time to review their referrals and whenever we tried to go upstairs [the TMO] it was already cleared.
“However, I'm not here to blame the referee, it was a very tough outing.
“In the first half, we showed how we want to play as a Province team so there were some positives
“But in the end, we did not get the win."
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