Former Wallabies captain Simon Poidevin has denoted Bledisloe I referee Mathieu Raynal’s performance as “disgraceful” days after the All Blacks retained the Cup.
Raynal found himself at the centre of controversy when penalising Wallabies’ five-eighth Bernard Foley for “time-wasting” in the 79th minute of the match, a call that ultimately allowed All Blacks’ fullback Jordie Barrett to cross over to claim victory 39-37.
Up by three points with 60 seconds left in the match, Foley was accused of attempting to wind the clock down after midfielder Lalakai Foketi produced a thrilling turnover to earn his side a penalty.
The five-eighth was in the motion of kicking for touch when Raynal blew his whistle, citing several warnings as his reasoning for penalising the home side.
Foley has since told Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts there was “confusion” on-field and bar being told to “hurry up,” he was unaware there would be repercussions if action wasn’t immediately taken.
Foley was calculated to have taken 39 seconds between winning the penalty and Raynal's whistle, while two separate occasions saw both Foley and All Blacks’ five-eighth Richie Mo'unga spend the same time, or longer, kicking to touch.
43:40: Penalty for high tackle
— Chris Ford (@ChrisFord_) September 15, 2022
44:19: Ball kicked by Foley
39 seconds had elapsed.
69:26 penalty NZ
70:51 penalty kicked by Mo’unga
1min 25 had elapsed.
In both other instances, Raynal did not penalise the attacking team for wasting time.
Ex-flanker Poidevin believes Raynal’s “arrogance” is to blame for the Wallabies’ dashed Cup hopes, saying the call is “disgraceful” and has ruined what was already a “fantastic game”.
“It’s just absolutely disgraceful,” Poidevin told SENZ’s The Rugby Run.
“It was a fantastic game, lots of action, a real, real humdinger between the two sides and all people are talking about after the game is a French referee.
“That’s not what we want … the arrogance from the referee (changed the game). The game’s not about referees.
“Good referees; people don’t remember who they were after the game but that’s not so in the modern era and too much has come into the game.
“The fact that Bernard Foley was actually attempting to kick the ball when he blew the whistle just tells the whole story.”
The penalty afforded the All Blacks a free kick which led to Barrett’s phenomenal try in the corner and sealed the win for the Kiwis.
Despite locking away the Cup for another year, the All Blacks will now host the final match of the Bledisloe series at Eden Park, where they will look to claim a series sweep and the Wallabies will be out for revenge.