Attempts to rectify the problem by recalling a replacing faulty batches were undermined when replacement phones also started malfunctioning.
But it simply was not as effective when replacement officials were spending extra time sorting out things between plays.
The French side looked assured of a semi-final place when replacement Matthieu Nicolas' try helped put them 10 points ahead with time almost up.
But when replacement fly-half Alridge slotted the penalty which took the Dragons into the lead, Glasgow were stunned into retaliation.
Yesterday, dealers were still impatiently waiting for Firestone to give them a definite timetable for when replacement tires will roll in.
When replacement costs run high, Tobin's Q runs low, and in those situations, companies tend to expand by acquiring other companies instead of building plants or buying equipment.
It was a tight schedule: I had a flight out of Savannah, Ga., Monday night; my husband was to fly from Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, when replacement crew arrived.
This class's 5,716 rushing yards are the most since the merger except for the strike year of 1987, when replacement players inflated the statistics.
Referees and players adjusted, and the number dropped to 61 in 2007 and 55 in 2008, before surging again last year, when replacement referees worked the preseason.
They also risk the permanent loss of their jobs, especially when replacement workers hired to continue operations during the strike stay on as permanent employees.
However, there was still time for one last scare for the Scots when replacement Motu Matu'u crossed with two minutes to go as the Samoans reduced the deficit to three points.
