Referee Angus Gardner (R) consults his television match official about the dubious tackle by England's fly-half Owen Farrell during the international rugby union test match between England and South Africa at Twickenham stadium in south-west London on November 3, 2018. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
Wikipedia was at it again at the weekend after Angus Gardner, the referee in the Springboks’ Test against England, had his entry edited to “reflect” his newfound “fame” in a uniquely South African way.
The 34-year-old Australian overshadowed the gritty but flawed battle at Twickenham with his handling of English flyhalf Owen Farrell’s shoulder charge on Bok centre Andre Esterhuizen.
Gardner wanted to blow the final whistle, but was convinced by his assistant to just check the legality of the tackle with the TMO.
He then ruled there had been “enough arm in the tackle”.
It didn’t take long for a rogue Wikipedia editor to vent his frustration.
The individual added to Gardner’s entry by stating he was named Man-of-the-Match for “turning a blind eye to Owen Farrell’s last-minute shoulder charge on Andre Esterhuizen”.
The entry emphatically ends with: “In South Africa, he is known as a p**s.”
Gardner’s position though has been strengthened by the fact that Farrell wasn’t cited afterwards.
The page was edited again just after 10pm on Sunday, removing the last paragraph again.
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