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Chiefs star Brad Weber vents frustration at 'laughable' refereeing calls in wake of Blues defeat

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Chiefs star Brad Weber has labelled some of the refereeing decisions that have cost his side Super Rugby Aotearoa victories in recent weeks as “laughable”.

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It comes after his side were subjected to their sixth loss in as many games on Sunday after a controversial refereeing decision late in their 21-17 defeat to the Blues at Eden Park denied them their first win of the campaign.

The frustration among Chiefs players was clear to see when No. 8 Pita Gus Sowakula looked to have scored under a pile of bodies in the dying minutes of the clash, but was denied by referee Brendon Pickerill, who instead handed a penalty to the Blues.

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The New Zealand Herald reported skipper Sam Cane, first-five Aaron Cruden and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown all surrounded Pickerill after the as they took issue to the game-changing call.

Cruden could be seen questioning Pickerill’s decision when the call was made, while Lienert-Brown didn’t hide his emotions post-match as he was adamant Sowakula had scored what would have been the match-winning try.

“In big moments, we’ve got the TMO for a reason,” Lienert-Brown told Newstalk ZB immediately after the encounter.

“We’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of calls this whole year and when it counted, when we needed it, why not go upstairs? I was a little bit frustrated. In a massive moment I think we’ve got to use the TMO.”

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The recent behaviour of Super Rugby Aotearoa stars sparked comments from New Zealand Rugby’s referees boss Bryce Lawrence, who called into question the “hostile” nature in which players are reacting to refereeing decisions.

“I definitely have an issue when other players who aren’t the captain come running in and asking the referee to do things and telling the referee how to referee the game,” Lawrence told Stuff.

“And demanding the referee do things. And I personally don’t like the way some players are challenging the referees in quite a hostile body language and verbally.”

“That’s something we will review at the end of this competition because I know there’s a wide range of rugby people that aren’t that thrilled with the way some of that behaviour is going at the moment,” he added.

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Lawrence said he had consulted with Pickerill about Sowakula’s denied try, with Pickerill determining that the loose forward was short of the line and that the Blues deserved a penalty as he didn’t release the ball.

He was therefore satisfied that he didn’t need to consult with the TMO.

Speaking to RugbyPass, Weber shared Lienert-Brown’s exasperation at a string of calls that have gone against the winless Chiefs in recent weeks.

“To be honest, it’s kind of getting a little bit laughable at times,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“For three or four weeks running we haven’t had the rub of the green in key moments, so we’re certainly learning how to deal with it pretty quickly.

“It’s getting pretty frustrating and really emotionally draining. 

“[We] put so much into a week to try and get a result, and then to come up short like the way we have, particularly the last couple of weeks, is pretty draining.”

It’s the second week running where the Chiefs have had a significant officiating call go against them after star playmaker Damian McKenzie was wrongly denied a try that would have secured victory over the Highlanders in round six.

McKenzie appeared to have scored after slicing the opposition defence apart, but, upon referral with the TMO, an accidental offside call from earlier in the sequence of play was made against first-five Kaleb Trask.

Lawrence admitted after the match that the wrong outcome had been reached, as the infringement had occurred more than two phases before the try was scored.

He said that while the right decision was made, as Trask had committed an accidental offside offence, the wrong process was carried out by the officials.

The Chiefs went on to lose 33-31 thanks to an injury time try to Highlanders midfielder Sio Tomkinson.

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Weber said that although the Chiefs were appreciative of the referees admitting they made the wrong calls, it doesn’t change the outcome of the match.

“There’s a lot of fight in the group, so we certainly aren’t folding over or anything,” the five-test All Blacks halfback said.

“We’ll certainly give the Crusaders a heck of a crack this weekend, but it’s frustrating getting apologies from referees saying they got key moments wrong.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter for us, because we still get a loss in the loss column.

“So, as much as we appreciate them admitting that they might have got something wrong, that sort of doesn’t help our fortunes at the moment.

“You’d almost rather they didn’t say anything. 

“I guess they know that they were wrong, and that confirms our thinking, that we’re not just complaining at nothing, it’s just frustrating that we’re not getting any of those calls run our way.

“One week it’s a try pulled back, and then the next week they don’t even check, and it’s pretty tough to take after a while.”

Veteran Blues hooker James Parsons sympathised with Weber and the Chiefs after having endured a multitude of luckless results since debuting for the Auckland franchise in 2012.

While the Blues are currently enjoying a good run of results to emerge as title contenders this season, Parsons has been part of squads in years gone by that have finished deep in the bottom half of Super Rugby standings.

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“I’ve been where they are, it’s tough,” the two-test All Black, who missed the Chiefs clash on Sunday through injury, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“The littlest decisions feel like the weight of the world when you’re wanting something so bad.

“It’s exactly that – it’s more emotional, and it just drains you because every you week, you start, you build yourself up and say ‘Right, this is the week, this will turn it around’, and you put a hell of a lot into it, and then it comes down to something so simple as that in the 81st minute.

“I’ve been on the other side of it many a time, and you do feel like – because they do mount up and you do get the emails from refs saying they got it wrong and they do mount up – it does become frustrating.”

Parsons added that the Chiefs should remain undeterred from the recent lack of results, highlighting Saturday’s clash against the Crusaders in Hamilton as a prime opportunity to prove their worth.

“Being a proud team like the Chiefs, being at home against the Crusaders, where they’ve already done a job on them, the teams haven’t changed so much [from] earlier in the year, it makes for an exciting clash this weekend,” he said.

“A Chiefs side with nothing to lose, there’s plenty to fear.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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