World Rugby 'agrees' with Wallabies over refereeing concerns
REACTION: Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie says World Rugby admitted that a crunch time-wasting call in the opening Bledisloe Cup loss was wrong.
In a now infamous decision, referee Mathieu Raynal pinged Bernard Foley for time-wasting in the dying stages of Australia’s 37-39 loss in Melbourne.
The decision devastated Wallabies fans, divided the sport and sparked a war of words between Rennie and All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who called it “very clear cut”.
Rennie said a ‘please explain’ issued to World Rugby after the Test produced a concession the Wallabies playmaker was harshly treated.
“They agreed with our concerns,” Rennie said.
While Nic White gave voice to the Wallabies’ heartache at the time, telling Raynal “mate, that just cost us the Rugby Championship”, Rennie said it was on his players to now turn the page.
“We seeked a bit of clarity. We’ve got that,” he said
“It’s not going to help us win on the weekend.
“We’ve decided to take it on the chin and move on.”
Raynal will be one of the assistant referees in Saturday’s rematch at Eden Park in Auckland.
The story continues below…
#REACTION: The Wallabies head coach called out All Blacks star Reiko Ioane for trash-talking his players 👇👇#RugbyChampionship #NewZealand #AllBlacks #Australia #Wallabies #NZLvAUS https://t.co/9I5cb7XoX5
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) September 22, 2022
Meanwhile, Rennie accepted the SANZAAR ban handed to lock Darcey Swain.
Swain received a six-week ban for a cleanout that left New Zealand’s Quinn Tupaea with a season-ending knee injury.
The ugly incident marred the opening half of last week’s Bledisloe Cup opener.
Tupaea ruptured his medial cruciate ligament and partially tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after Swain entered a ruck and made firm contact with the All Black’s outstretched leg.
“It was clumsy and reckless. There’s no malice in that,” Rennie said.
“It met the red card threshold and he got punished accordingly.”
Rennie said Swain spoke to Tupaea after the match and reached out again after he found out the extent of the injury.
In defending his player, Rennie also claimed officials missed a similar cleanout that sent one of his players to the treatment table.
The Wallabies coach said Scott Sio suffered a hamstring injury at the hands of All Blacks prop Fletcher Newell, an action that went unpunished.
“I hear they’re fuming,” Rennie said of Foster’s side.
“I mean we’re not that excited by Fletcher Newell’s cleanout on Scott Sio which leaves him out for three weeks and [Newell] didn’t get cited or carded.
“[Swain] has been punished and six weeks is a hefty punishment I reckon … but Fletcher Newell gets to live another day.”
#ICYMI: Australia’s Darcy Swain has received a lengthy ban for the incident that left New Zealand’s Quinn Tupaea with a bad knee injury. 👇#RugbyChampionship #NewZealand #AllBlacks #Australia #Wallabies #NZLvAUS https://t.co/iMgy9Bnsng
— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) September 22, 2022
