Romain Poite and Jerome Garces: The world of two vastly different referees

Excuse me David, do you think that what Moore does, when he opens the gap for the first try, could be why Poite had a problem with Moore. Possibly when your Captain does that, a ref would think this guy is instigating the problems?

So your approach to bias on the part of the referee is to blame the players. Moore's approaches to the referees have been nothing but respectful. Poite's refereeing of the the first test against the English cost the WBs that game, large numbers of Australians believe that that. Follow up from that appears to have set Poite on a course against the WBs eg no card for the clear attack on a players head within a metre of Poite and his disrespectful attitude to Moore, and if the AB player did not play at the ball by leaping metres up and towards it then I truly am blind. You must understand that it is the responsibility of the referee to control the game according to the laws and to do so in a manner which does not give rise to a perception of bias. The referees are professionals and should not need to be managed by the players. Referees must be held to account for their performances and there must be some public exposure of this process If this issue is not fixed then rugby is doomed in Australia. That said, Poite did not cost the WBs much in this most recent test. Cheika's selections are the real problem. Also, the WBs play was no more dirty than the ABs, arguably less so. Coleman's charge was late and clumsy but did no real damage and was punished appropriately. Franks attack on the face was frightening and intimidating and Sanzaars clearing of it is a complete disgrace. Same for Steve Hansens's feeble defence of it.

“Wallaby Kane Douglas says he didn’t feel he was victim of eye gouge from All Black Owen Franks” http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/rugby/wallaby-kane-douglas-says-he-didnt-feel-he-was-victim-of-eye-gouge-from-all-black-owen-franks/news-story/7ff281114a9957c8cab90ea10ebdbd8e

I'm not sure he got that 2nd half kick off wrong Cuw. I've seen the low level close up shot and it seems quite possible that the ball in fact touched Haylett-Petty first. So I don't think it was clear cut as many think including the Sky NZ TV commentators. I heard him say to the players that he may be wrong but that was his view.

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts down David. Can not deny your passion Research can be used to support or refute most arguments. And in this case could sway passionate wallabies supporters. I'm old school and remain willing to accept the refs decision. I will say, I read unhealthy bias in your article and a desire for fairness. Fairness can and was delivered on review of the game

Since Wayne Barnes' international career started in 2006 NZ and Aus have played 33 times Australia winning 5 which gives Aus a win ratio of 15.15%. Given there have only been 5 wins and two draws out of 33 games my guess is Barnes' isn't the only one with a percentage of 0% Aussie wins. In saying that - he is an appallingly over officious self important nitwit who shouldn't be reffing international rugby - hard to adapt to some one who thinks the tens of thousands of people have paid to come and watch him.

gold !

I like Garces most of the times, but, be realistic, I think that most of you guys didn't see Arg-SA last saturday. Ask Hernandez about Garces and his decisions. Embarrasing. SA Mohoje was repeatedly going with high tackles, none of them apparently noticed by Garces or any refs, including one terrible neck strangler over Hernandez that could be very dangerous and the head to head that take Hernandez out of the field. The only one that Garces saw was the last one and the Pumas won by it. The Pumas use to play hard and dirty some times but theyre punished so often because of that, it seems that when the Boks plays that way it doesn't matter. Saludos desde Argentina, Go Pumas! Fun fact: We had the only yellow card of the game :P

Very well said Nahuel! And no need to apologize for your English!!

David, I can sympathize with your opinion on Roman Poite, but I absolutely disagree with your opinion on Garces! Did you watch the Pumas - Bok game last Saturday? His lack of consistency with respect to dangerous tackles is unbelievable! He yellow carded Herrera for a late tackle using his shoulder and never once saw the 4 high tackles made by Mohoje!! Even the one that JM Hernandez was grabbed literally by his neck and lifted horizontally by another Bok player! He did not see the dangerous high tackle from De Toit? One of the reasons for the game to become dangerous is when referees continue to show different standards when acting in the pitch! It is even worse - I have been involved in rugby U all my life and I was brought up with knowing that the referee is always right, even when he makes a mistake (he is human after all!) but when we start seeing such blunt standard differences in a game - the sport is at risk of loosing one of the key elements that makes RU great! Needles to say it makes the pitch a dangerous place!

Was that the semi when sir Richi tripped the Puma player? Little angles should be penalised.

Garces had a shocker in SA/ARG game. He probably missed 3 to 4 yellow cards and a red card for SA, lucky that Argentina won in the end. If not there probably would have been an investigation into Garces' performance.

one ref i was so impressed with last aviva season was JP DOYLE> he is young and very assertive - like Gardener. also i would much like to see the RASTAMAN getting more gigs. he is still a rookie , i guess in XVs , but in 7s he rellay does very well. as for the Fremnchies , if u watch the top 14 a little more frequently, u will see their whole game is different to that of test rugger played by SH teams (and even some of NH teams).

Watching a different game were you? Never saw him do so once and that was pointed out by the commentators every time he was told to talk to his team. Stands to reason. They were playing the very game plan Cheika wanted them to play to. Niggle, niggle, niggle with a bit of foul play here and there. What's Moore going to say? Let's can Cheika's game plan? Why would he do that? He can't play rugby so all that's left for him is to try and upset the opposition to restrict the winning margin.

Ok, let me dispel a myth you Ozzies have carried for far too long. Richard Loe's tackle on Carozza was absolutely legitimate. It was only awarded and Loe pinged thanks to the aussie reaction to it. Allow me to explain. The #1 rule in rugby is to play to the whistle. Carozza went over for the try and never actually grounded the ball as it was his arms that hit the deck. Look at the footage and that is quite clear. Carozza rolled onto his back (at which stage the whistle was still not blown) with the ball on his upper chest. Richard Loe then did exactly what he was supposed to do, dive on the player and secure the ball. As the ball was on Carozzas upper chest, one arm went below the ball and the other arm above the ball. Directly above the ball was Carozzas big nose. It got broke. Not only was Loe castigated by the unknowledgeable Aussie media, Carozza was ultimately awarded the try that he never actually scored. The so called Franks incident wasn't even sighted. Neither by the touch judges, the ref, the video ref or even the SANZAAR judicary. Let it go, it's just another beat up by your media who have very little knowledge of the game as they prove time and time again. Sounds like you were watching a different game. Truth is, the Wallabies game plan consisted of niggle, niggle, niggle in the hope of disrupting enough of the AB's flow to ensure they lose by less than the previous week. If I was you, I'd start looking at how bad your own team is rather than try and pick holes in another AB win despite the constant niggle and foul play by Australia. I'd be embarassed if the AB's played like that. Regardless of the result. It was disgraceful and sums up how bad Cheika is as a coach.

I reckon he's Bernie Larkham.

Wozza? (That's really you, Bernie Larkham isn't it?) How about providing a link to the footage of the Frank Bunce shoulder charge?

Agree the Boks number 7 did a number of head high tackles, one of which turned into a chokehold which were never picked up or penalised. He should have been yellow carded after the first couple but was pulled up on none of them. There was also quite a bit of holding of players off the ball by both teams but the ref just smiled away.

sorry don't agree , Moore needs to stop badgering and being stupid with the refs then they may listen to him. Both the English and New Zealand captains were treated by the refs better than Moore . Australia needs to be smarter

@Nobrain--jajajaja yes when we win, it's fun to watch 3 times or more! Look at around 20:00. Leguizuamon chop tackles Combrinck in midfield; breaks his leg. Combrinck played on, which is wild. Actually even tried to tackle Puma on the first try. High tackles are no good. Chop tackles are no good. the late shoulder charge on Louw just missed his knee. All of it is rough, tough stuff. To me, the worst was Mohoje, because it was over and over and over and over. Crazy. I would drop him and start PSDT at blindside, give Jaco K a start in Brisbane, bc Louw is the perfect sub to cover all three loose positions.