Australia writes to World Rugby over refereeing concerns

Most of the controversy around the call was centred on the timing.

With a minute+ to go, Aust in the lead, and a penalty awarded for such a minor infraction.

Technically the call may have been correct - but in the death moments of a major international contest, with scores so close after such amazing efforts by both sides, such a soft penalty never needs to be paid.

Umpiring/refereeing games of all sorts is tough, but spectators generally hate overly rigid technical interpretations which can destroy the spirit of a game.

Watch for a huge variance in readings of the rules in the up-coming World Cup in Qatar. Some refs will allow "looser" play, some will be sticklers for the rules and fans will be frustrated.

Wouldn't be an umpire for love or money.

Sub? He was French.

@risky - point taken.

Just saying from my experience most fans of ball sports don't like the overly tech to the nth of decision making by refs. Nothing to do with disrespect.

I'm not a big rugby fan so I don't have a vested interest.

My 1st sport of choice - AFL - has been discussing this conundrum of consistency in decisions for ages and almost every week games are won / lost because of different interpretations by different umpires.

Bottom line is as I suggested not was it technically correct but the spirit of the decision.

If roles had been reversed, I doubt if NZ supporters would shrug the shoulders and say "Well that's the right decision".

Livid beyond I think.

no more deliberate time wasting in rugby.

the clock was stopped, so it couldn’t have been time wasting

I'm sure that after reading the Aussies heartfelt letter, World Rugby will disallow the try and declare Australia Champions of the world for ever... lol

It's a laugh that Nigel Owens agrees that it was time-wasting. He was criticized eventually for wasting time himself for so many years. Nigel Owens was infamous for calling scrums with a few minutes to go on the clock, when he would call 4 or 5 resets on purpose until the hooter sounded. The next pack down would result in a penalty to the winning team so they could kick the ball out to end the game. It was a shame that it took coaches 3 to 4 years to realize his tactics so he wouldn't have to spend more energy chasing the play. Now, he has the hide to say that the referee was right. I totally disagree that in such a major event, a referee would even consider such a controversial decision that not only affected the outcome of the Bledisoe Cup, but the leading table on the rugby championships. I hope never to see Raynal referee a top tier international match again until he is fully re-trained. As well, just for the Kiwi idiots who are one-eyed, there have been many times the All Blacks have gotten away with the same tactics. If the shoe was on the other foot, you would be complaining just as much as us Aussies.