Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will seek a ‘please explain’ over the controversial refereeing call that saw New Zealand clinch the Bledisloe Cup for a 20th-straight year.
The Wallabies were up 37-34 with just over a minute left to play in the first match at Marvel Stadium, and had won a penalty, placing the ball in Bernard Foley’s hands.
Foley believed time was off but referee Mathieu Raynal called it back on and, after the No.10 delayed kicking the ball, he awarded the All Blacks a penalty.
Jordie Barrett went on to score a try and win the Test for the All Blacks at the death.
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Rennie said after the match that he hadn’t “seen a decision like that at any level.
“I think you’ve got to have a feel, a feel for the game and the situation. So if you feel a team’s wasting time, then stop the clock, then they kick it out, and then you play the game and the teams decide it. (It was) just a real lack of feel for the situation,” Rennie said.
“I spoke to Bernard after the game. He was under the impression time was off. The referee had told him to play and at no stage was he told or did he believe he was going to call a scrum from that. Most situations the clock is off and the clock stays off, so it sounds like the clock went off and then he started it again.”
Asked if he would be seeking clarification from SANZAAR and World Rugby, he said: “Yeah … that’s standard.”
Rennie said that he had never seen the rule officiated in his time in rugby.
“The rule book’s complex, isn’t it,” he said. “There’s surely something in there somewhere (but) that is never reffed upon.
“It’s incredibly disappointing way to finish because down 31-13, down to 13 players, (we) showed a huge amount of character to come back into that game and then get our nose in front. So to lose it, in that fashion, massively disappointing.”
Rennie said he felt “gutted” for his side and expressed disappointment that the decision marred what was a thrilling Test.
“I’m gutted for our men because I reckon we deserve better,” Rennie said. “It was a helluva game of footy.
“We had a couple of yellow cards and found ourselves down 31-13, so to fight back and get ourselves in front showed a lot of character and it was a disappointing way to lose it.
“I don’t know … it lacks a bit of feel for such an important moment in the game and you would have thought kick it out and play out the last couple of minutes.”
