Rugby: Wounded Australia write to World Rugby over refereeing concerns

MELBOURNE - Rugby Australia has written to the sport's global governing body to reiterate concerns about refereeing after the Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand in Melbourne was tarnished by a contentious time-wasting decision.

French referee Mathieu Raynal penalised Bernard Foley for holding up the game at Docklands last Thursday as the fly half prepared to kick the ball to touch from the Wallabies' 22 with a minute left in the Test.

With New Zealand awarded a five-metre scrum in front of the posts, Jordie Barrett scored a try after the siren to snatch a 39-37 victory for the All Blacks.

Raynal's decision, virtually unseen in elite rugby, was criticised by Australia coach Dave Rennie as well as pundits across the globe.

Former Wallabies coach Alan Jones called Raynal "the little pipsqueak from Paris", with the Daily Mail Australia quoting him as saying: "Is the referee buggering up the game? Undeniably, yes...

"The referees have an inordinate amount of control over the game... referees are ruining the game."

A Rugby Australia spokesman on Monday confirmed it had urged World Rugby to take concerns about officiating in general seriously.

"It's not unusual, we've been lobbying World Rugby for some time on this," the spokesman said.

Elite rugby has become dominated by officials in recent years, with the increased use of the Television Match Official (TMO) to spot infringements making for more stop-start games.

A lower threshold for yellow and red cards to improve safety has also had a major impact on the flow as the TMO and referee halt action several times every game, often spending minutes to weigh video footage of incidents before making decisions.

Australia are not alone in expressing concerns about the state of the game. England coach Eddie Jones said in July he would push for change, having become fed up with officiating delays and the "incessant" use of the TMO.

In early September, World Cup winner David Campese told the Daily Mail Australia: "It's a farce. The referees think they are the most important person on the field... People don't pay their money to watch a referee blow his whistle... They want to see tries, not penalty goals. It's sad. The way things are now, it's a joke."

The Melbourne loss saw Australia surrender the Bledisloe Cup for a 20th successive year.

Foley said on Friday he was trying to "get really clear" on what the Wallabies would do at the next line-out.

Prop Allan Alaalatoa said the leadership group had reviewed the incident to see how they could handle similar situations better in future. He said: "We can only control what we can control and you've got to take the ref's decision out of it."

While Rennie and Australian fans were fuming with Raynal's decision, All Blacks coach Ian Foster insisted it was "very clear cut" and he found an ally in Nigel Owens, the game's most capped international rugby referee.

"As so many of you have been in touch to ask - clear communication and warning to the player to get on with it. A fair and strong refereeing call by Raynal I feel. Learning here is not for the referee, but the players to get on with it when ref asks," the retired Owens tweeted. REUTERS, AFP