Officials must react quicker than they did for ‘knocked out’ Specman

For a sport that claims to put safety at the forefront of everything, it is unbelievable that the match officials failed to see how badly out of it Rosko Specman was on Wednesday night after being “knocked out” in a Currie Cup game.

The Cheetahs winger was left unconscious after being run into by opposite number Angelo Davids of Western Province in Bloemfontein.

This is something that happens from time to time in a contact sport like rugby and is accepted as such, but my concern is that the officials never reacted quicker to the incident. Play was allowed to go on when it was clear to all watching that Specman was in no shape to carry on and needed urgent attention.

WATCH: Specman ‘knocked out’ by Davids, but ‘the boy is okay’

It is bizarre how this situation unfolded. World Rugby harp on about safety, but not the referee, touch judges or TMO, or the doctor at the ground, called a stop to proceedings.

Fortunately for Specman he wasn’t badly concussed and didn’t suffer any other problems, but what if it had been worse? I hope this is a learning opportunity for the officials and doesn’t happen again.

Moving on to Saturday’s URC action, I’m expecting the Sharks and Stormers to win again, but I’m still not sure what the Lions are going to do.

While the Lions won against Cardiff last weekend, crucially for them, they still seemed to lack a killer touch and their bench did nothing later on to put the game to bed. They now need to win against Munster too to show they have turned the corner, otherwise it’s back to square one.

The Sharks were never under pressure against Scarlets last weekend and they won’t be under pressure this week against Zebre. What I’m hoping to see from the Sharks though is a high-quality performance that matches the quality of players in the side. They need to be more clinical and ruthless when they’re in a position to be.

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The Stormers remain the surprise package since the start of the year. Brok Harris has been huge for them, but so, too, has flyhalf Manie Libbok. The No 10 couldn’t settle at the Bulls or the Sharks but is now flourishing. He is certainly the Stormers’ first-choice flyhalf and directs play brilliantly; one of the reasons why that back division is playing so well.

It just goes to show what can happen when a coach fully backs a player. It was the same with Curwin Bosch at one stage at the Sharks; there was a time he was backed and he played with confidence and authority, but I’m not so sure that is the case anymore.

I hope Libbok continues to grow and prosper at the Stormers and becomes the flyhalf many predicted he’d become when he was a junior.