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Wallabies reveal World Rugby response to controversial Raynal call

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has lit the fuse ahead of this Saturday’s Rugby Championship finale in Auckland, saying World Rugby conceded a crunch time-wasting call in the opening Bledisloe Cup loss by referee Mathieu Raynal was wrong. In a now infamous decision, referee Raynal pinged Bernard Foley for timewasting in the dying stages of Australia’s 39-37 loss in Melbourne.

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The decision devastated Wallabies fans, divided the sport and sparked a war of words between Rennie and All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who called it “very clear cut”.

Rennie said a ‘please explain’ issued to World Rugby after the Test produced a concession the Wallabies playmaker was harshly treated. “They agreed with our concerns,” Rennie said.

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While Nic White gave voice to the Wallabies’ heartache at the time, telling Raynal, “Mate, that just cost us the Rugby Championship”, Rennie said it was on his players to now turn the page.

“We sought a bit of clarity. We have got that. It’s not going to help us win on the weekend,” he said. “We have decided to take it on the chin and move on.”

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Rugby Australia had written to the sport’s global governing body earlier this week voicing its concerns about refereeing given the late and questionable time-wasting call with the match in the balance last Thursday. French referee Raynal penalised Foley for holding up the game as the Wallabies five-eighth shaped to kick the ball to touch with less than two minutes left.

Australi were left fuming at the decision, after which Jordie Barrett scored a try from a New Zealand scrum five metres in front of the posts to snatch victory. A Rugby Australia spokesperson on Monday confirmed to Reuters they had urged World Rugby to take seriously concerns about officiating in general. “We have been lobbying World Rugby for some time on this,” the spokesperson said.

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8 Comments
I
Ian 817 days ago

Yes, WR are weak. They makeup the rules for rugby. Time wasting is one. IA game I saw on tv awhile back now, the ref stopped a conversion/ penalty attempt because the kicker was taking too long. Foley ignored the ref twice. 1/ kicking a conversion when told to wait. 2/ Wasting time when told to play on.

R
Reuben 818 days ago

Dave rennie boo-hoo poor princess

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Willie 818 days ago

Just who is "World Rugby", Rennie??
Let's have a name and perhaps a direct quote.

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John 818 days ago

Some of the refereeing in recent tests have been well below standard

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Richie 818 days ago

What a crock! The referee was constantly calling for the game to be sped up throughout the game. Everyone, and I would imagine that includes world rugby, wants a faster brand of rugby.

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Troy 819 days ago

Will believe it when I hear it from World Rugby themselves.

f
finn 819 days ago

spineless from world rugby

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Tom 5 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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