Wallabies legend’s ‘very clear’ verdict on ref ‘inconsistencies’ as he issues a plea to World Rugby
Refree Andrea Piardi and an inset of Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt.
Former Wallabies hooker Jeremy Paul has called on World Rugby to look into the inconsistencies around referee decisions in the aftermath of the Bledisloe Cup Test at Eden Park.
Australia fell to a 33-24 defeat at the hands of the All Blacks in round five of the Rugby Championship, which meant that Scott Robertson’s charges retained the Cup and continued their unbeaten run at their fortress.
However, many Wallabies fans, pundits and even players were left frustrated by perceived inconsistencies in the way referee Andrea Piardi and his team officiated the fixture.
A point of view that head coach Joe Schmidt had, as well as his team, conceded 15 penalties to the All Blacks 10.
Schmidt and Turinui rue inconsistencies
During the match, former Wallaby Morgan Turinui, who was on commentary duty for Stan Sports, believed that Italian referee Piardi ‘was not up to the occasion’ and was appointed ‘in error’ by World Rugby to officiate the encounter.
Harry Potter’s yellow card during the clash has been dubbed by many as ‘harsh’ while Jordie Barrett’s lifting tackle on James O’Connor – that was not sanctioned by Piardi and his TMO Marius Jonker, despite being checked – has also proved to be controversial.
Speaking to Turinui and Stan Sport after the game, Schmidt was asked whether the discipline issue was one that the Wallabies had to regulate themselves or if there was something around understanding what the referees are looking at.
“It’s really hard because what we’ve perceived is inconsistencies, and that makes it difficult, and then players are asking us questions and we get clarification afterwards,” he replied.
“But I do think that we’ve just got to be better at adapting to how the referee is refereeing and if you don’t do that, then you pay the price as we did today.”
He further explained his remarks in the post-match press conference, but also detailed where his team weren’t good enough, pointing to the high miss tackle stat with Australia missing 39 compared to the All Blacks’ 12.
“We missed probably three or four times as many tackles as the All Blacks did, and so that’s on us. The referee’s not going to make the tackles for us,” he said. “We’ve got to roll our sleeves up and make sure that we deliver those. We’ve got to make sure we hang on to possession better.
“We have frustrations and they’re across the board that some we can influence, and some we’ve got to make sure that we improve upon for next week. We’re disappointed that we were penalised 15 times and we’ve got to be better than that… We’ve got to try to be able to adapt to Andrea Piardi. And that’s one of the challenges. It’s pretty hard to adapt in-game when the All Blacks are getting width and coming at you.”
Paul’s plea to World Rugby
Former hooker Paul agreed with the Wallabies boss’ sentiments but still believes that there are inconsistencies in the punishments of certain actions, pointing to a similar tackle to Barrett’s, which was deemed to reach the yellow card threshold during the Women’s Rugby Cup final between England and Canada.
But like Schmidt, he refused to point to the referee as the reason for the defeat.
“I want to make this point very clear: the referee will never lose you a game,” he said on the Good, Bad and Rugby AUNZ podcast.
“There are many other opportunities; the referee is not the one who misses the tackles. Yes, he awards the penalties – he is not the one who kicks for the sidelines.
“The big thing for me is spectacle and the entertainment value, not just the refereeing on the weekend. Look at the Women’s Rugby World Cup final this weekend, Hannah Botterman, who got a yellow card instantly, for that lift.
“Then you have a look at Jordie Barrett’s tackle on James O’Connor, his lift or horizontal was way higher. Do I think it was worth 10 minutes? No, hell no. It wasn’t worth 10 minutes? Noway, I thought it was a brilliant tackle. But we see it on the other side of the world, in one of the biggest events, the highest attendance for a women’s game ever – over 80,000 – and we see a sin-binning for exactly the same situation, and those kinds of inconsistencies is what is really frustrating for fans. Not necessarily blaming who wins or loses.”
Paul does see the challenge in getting consistent calls, as much as players, referees have different styles and approaches to the game.
“The hard part, and I’ve said this since my playing days, is going from like an Italian to a Frenchman, to a New Zealander, to an Ozzie and all these countries, you are playing a completely different game,” he continued.
“When you talk about the ill-discipline of the Wallabies, last week they weren’t getting penalised for things that they were getting penalised for this week.
“It’s not just the Wallabies; it’s a frustration that all teams are suffering from all teams in international rugby at the moment. It’s something that World Rugby has to look at and look at immediately.
“But it’s incredibly difficult to change from week to week when you are playing and under extreme exhaustion and fatigue, because all your bad habits come out.”
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