‘We are not getting any 50/50s’- Warren Gatland hits out at referee performances after Wales defeat
Warren Gatland is not pleased by how Wales are being officiated.
Warren Gatland feels that Wales are not getting any 50/50 decisions from the referees and will seek clarity around James Botham’s disallowed try in defeat to Australia.
Wales have now fallen to eight successive losses, their worst run since a period between 2012 and 2013.
The Wallabies clinched a 25-16 victory over Gatland’s charges thanks to tries from Taniela Tupou, Filipo Daugunu and Tom Wright with Wales awarded one penalty try.
However, it could have gone a completely different way if Botham’s try had not been disallowed when referee Brousset and television match official Marius Jonker judged that Wales had obstructed the Australian defence before the score.
Gatland’s take on disallowed try
Reacting to the decision, Gatland was unsure about the technicalities around the decision but did have a pop at the referees in general.
“We hurt ourselves with the number of turnovers, which didn’t help and probably the penalty count early on in the game was helpful,” he told Sky Sports.
“We gave away soft penalties which hurt us early on. We got back into the game; it was close. I need to get some clarity on that disallowed try from the maul.
“At the moment, we’re not getting any of the 50/50 calls and we just have to work through that.”
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Despite being rather bullish from the tough questions he was fielding, Galtand still found some positives from his side’s performance as they look to bounce back against Australia next week.
“There were lots of good things, it was a tough, physical game,” he added.
“The turnovers definitely didn’t help us in keeping momentum and looking to put Australia under pressure.”
But he returned to the disallowed try decision, which was a pivotal point in the match.
“I mean [had it been give], we would have been there and potentially had a conversion to go in front. I need to get some clarity on that in terms of the decision that was made, I’m not 100% sure,” he said.
Turning things around
Addressing the losing streak, he added: “We know where we are at the moment. We are developing this team. They’re gonna have to learn from those experiences.
“There were some real positives out there in terms of what we’re trying to do. Again. Again, when you’re chasing the game, you want to get, fresh legs on there,, and give players that experience in international games.
“We have been pretty upfront about what we’re trying to do in building this team. We are showing glimpses of that, and I hope people can see some development towards the next World Cup.
“I am going to be under pressure and have to talk about the losing run, but in that run, we have been in games, we have been in front and easily could have won a few, and tonight’s the same.
“A little bit more accuracy and we get a couple of decisions that go our way and we win.
“And those are the big moments that we need to learn from that and in those arm-wrestle matches, we end up on the the winning side of the scoreboard.”
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