All Blacks hit out at multiple referee decisions following series defeat to Springboks
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Not impressed.
The All Blacks have hit out at a number of refereeing decisions following their series defeat to the Springboks in Baltimore, with assistant coach Neil Barnes claiming South Africa were getting “penalties for bugger all”.
New Zealand went down 43-28 at M&T Bank Stadium as the Springboks completed a 3-1 victory in the inaugural Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
The scrum had been a major source of debate throughout the four Tests, and Barnes was once again unhappy with how it was officiated in the finale.
In particular, he questioned two early penalties awarded against the All Blacks over the brake-foot law, claiming South Africa were doing the same thing.
“We get two penalties against us at the start of the game for a brake-foot, which no one really gives a s*** about, but the referees are concentrating on,” Barnes said.
“And when you look at the video, both teams have done exactly the same thing at the same time. There are two penalties against us.”
Barnes believes the Springboks’ reputation for dominance at the set-piece may also be contributing to the decisions they are receiving.
“So, I guess at the end of the day, there’s a perception there that they’re the dominant team, but at the moment they’re getting the rub of the green,” he said.
“When that changes, we’ll have a fair go.”
The All Blacks assistant also argued that the penalties prevented New Zealand from maintaining the tempo they wanted and allowed the Springboks opportunities to slow the contest down.
“I thought it was a good game of rugby, to be fair,” Barnes said.
“We’ve got to be in a position where we can actually control the game for longer with the speed of it to fatigue them more.
“Every time they keep getting penalties for bugger all and get to slow the game down, it brings them back into it.”
The comments come after a series in which the Springbok scrum and its interpretation by officials became an increasingly contentious subject in the New Zealand camp.
Despite his frustration, Barnes acknowledged that South Africa deserved credit for their performance in Baltimore.
“The more I reflect, the more I know we’re seriously close to them,” he said.
“Probably just not getting the rub of the green or getting a lot of luck in close moments at the moment.
“Clearly they’re probably, fair to say, the better team tonight. But holy heck, there’s a couple of moments swinging with about 20 minutes to go where two or three times in a row we’ve come out on the wrong side of a close call which let them skip away from us a little bit.”
Barnes nevertheless believes the four-Test tour has shown that the All Blacks are closing the gap on the world champions.
“I definitely think we’re on the right track,” he added.
“We’ve got to fine-tune things. It’s been a hell of a tour, something that we’re pretty proud of what we’ve achieved on the way.”
