Dave Rennie has made a point of keeping his powder dry when faced with perceived injustice from the refereeing group in the past. On Sunday he exploded with pent up frustration.
The mild mannered Kiwi described the efforts of referee Mike Adamson and TMO Marius Jonker as “horrendous” on the post-match TV interview after his team was edged 29-28 by Wales.
Rennie was fuming over two calls in particular – one to sin bin Kurtley Beale for a deliberate knock down and then later, to allow a try to Wales for a similar incident.
Australia also had Rob Valetini sent off after just 15 minutes.
Rennie was especially scathing of Jonker and revealed the Wallabies had been told that the TMO official mistakenly sent Allan Alaalatoa to the sin bin in the two point loss to Scotland a fortnight ago.
Rob Valetini of Australia is shown a red card. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Here’s everything Rennie said after the loss
“I thought some of the decision making tonight by the officials was horrendous,” Rennie said on the TV coverage.
“It played a big part in the result. Kurtley Beale got sin binned for slapping the ball down. They did the same thing and it clearly goes forward and they get seven points out of it.
“Obviously really disappointed by the result. We’ll end up getting an apology next week no doubt but it won’t help the result.”
On why he decided to unleash on the officials
“I’ve made a decision to voice our disappointment immediately after the game,” Rennie said. “It’s not emotional. It’s not overreacting. But I thought it’s important that we stated our feelings.
“I make a real point not to criticise referees. We send reports in and seek a bit of clarity around things. We did that after the Scotland game, got a lot of apologies during the week and again that was a two point ball game and the same TMO that made a massive decision in that game as well.
“I just think our boys deserve better than that. That’s the reason why I spoke up after the game, it’s not going to help us to get apologies during the week, the game’s gone.
“I don’t have an issue with the red card because that’s the way it’s beeing refereed nowadays. You’ve got to take that on the chin.
“I wasn’t happy with Kurtley’s yellow card. He’s making an effort to wrap two arms, it clips his hand on the way through, they find a yellow card for that.
“Yet Nick Tompkins slashes the ball down in open play and somehow they say it didn’t go forward when he’s facing forward.
“They get seven points out of it instead of getting a yellow card and us geting a penalty. There were lots of decisions today I’m not going to go into but I felt they had a massive bearing on the game.
“Our boys played with a lot of courage and a lot of heart tonight and we were almost good enough to win that. But I’m incredibly disappointed with the officiating.”
On the possibility of facing sanctions for his criticism
Rennie said there was no doubt he could face sanctions for his comments, “but how do I support our team? By biting my lip again and us getting apologies during the week? It doesn’t change the result.
“I felt it was important that I spoke my mind. I’ve been a professional coach for over 20 years. I’ve never gone in the media and had a crack at a referee or the referee group. I felt I had to tonight.”
On the rising influence of the TMO and Jonker’s performance
“The reason the TMO was brought in was to get the right decision,” said Rennie.
“It’s going to slow the game down but you get to look at it and make the right decision.
“And I reflect back on Marius’ decision to sin bin Allan Alaalatoa against Scotland. During the week we were told it was the wrong decision, it wasn’t a yellow card.
“They’re big moments. Getting an apology during the week is not good enough. If we’re going to have TMO there’s no excuse for not getting the decision right. And we saw another example of that tonight.
“Everyone’s accountable, or they should be. Certainly we are and we want to make sure the officials are also accountable. Marius’ decision a couple of weeks ago, decided the game yet he was appointed again. Is there any accountability around guys making errors that are deciding Test matches?”
On Sunday’s effort, the European tour results and performances
“I’m incredibly proud of the effort – that was massive,” Rennie said of the gut wrenching defeat.
“We said we were going to empty out the tank for each other and when you’re two players too short, you’ve got to do that.
“We got put under the blowtorch and I thought the boys responded really well. So I’m really proud of the guys but I feel they deserved better.”
He said the team would “reflect back on three games that were winnable.
“So it’s frustrating. We’ve learned a lot. What we’ve highlighted, hopefully to everyone back at home, is a huge amount of courage and character in this group.
“We beat a French team with 14 players playing for 75 minutes. We’ve got a group of men who are prepared to fight for each other. We weren’t accurate enough in the first couple of weeks and finished second. We’ll take learnings out of this bit obviously very disappointed not to get to win on tour.”
On discipline issues
“I thought we were a lot better with discipline tonight,” said Rennie, despite the red and yellow cards and decisive penalty near the end.
“I think the penalty count was 13 and we’d argue a number of those. But we’ve got to be better. We’ve lost the penalty count in all three games we’ve played up here so we’ve clearly got to adjust better.
“I take responsibility for that – we’re not blaming the players. We’ve got to make sure that we’re disciplined and that we understand that there’s consequences for that on game day and we’ve got to make sure there’s consequences during the week.
On injuries to Andrew Kellaway and Taniela Tupou
“Kels landed awkwardly – he knocked himself out so that was an automatic replacement,” said Rennie. “Taniela’s injury is a shin. We tried to put him out for five or 10 minutes in the second half and it was evident within a couple of minutes he was still struggling. ”
On the impact of the overseas players
“We really appreciate their input not just on the field on game day, but in all our meetings, reviews and training,” Rennie said.
“They’re good men, passionate Australians who want to be Wallabies. We appreciate the support of the board to bring a few guys back this year and they’ve enjoyed the culture. We’ll sit down with the board and review the Giteau Law and get an idea what it looks like at the end of this year.”
Brandon
Guest
Since the top rugby nations are getting closer to one another on skill, as we see with close games. Refereeing calls are becoming more significant in determining the result. Rugby at risk of close games going either way between the same teams week in and out.
Brad
Roar Rookie
Yep, that's what it was called in the findings of the panel, but in Jonker's case he wasn't even afforded the opportunity to accept the offer he couldn't refuse. He might have preferred that to the immediate character assassination, who knows
peterm
Roar Rookie
agree with what you say as Rennie's point is a good, valid one - one week an apology for a ref's error that cost the match - and a week later the same guy gives two more dubious decisions that cost us the game. I wonder if an apology has come about the decisions yet ? if it does, then Rennie is more than vindicated
piru
Roar Rookie
contacting Jonker to give him a fair opportunity to please explain Funny way to spell blackmailing
Brad
Roar Rookie
I get the feeling that the view held by just about everyone outside of the Republic has been from such a high horse they can't see their way down. Rennie is at least guilty of charges 2-6 as per Rassie's misconduct finding. So only innocent of charge 1 and I think you would find that Jonker would have appreciated a heads up warning and opportunity to explain himself before Rennie ran to the press.
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
It was the view of just about everyone outside of the Republic Brad. But you guys have a history of being blind to yourselves. And nuance is not a word naturally applied to most Bok fans. I'm now positive you are immersed in the psyche of Bok rugby. But I doubt you appreciate how that affects you. I don't say this to offend but to explain my position. I already feel like this would be exactly like debating a Trump apologist. Totally pointless even in the face of the bleeding obvious. So I won't.
Brad
Roar Rookie
Rennie is clearly guilty of charges 2-6 against Erasmus in the WR panel report. So he is only innocent of charge 1, which would be contacting Jonker to give him a fair opportunity to please explain before assassinating his character and hard fought career in public
Craig Jeffery
Guest
Yeah, that's why WR apologised to the WBs for Joker's performance in the Scotland game. Two weeks' later the clown costs Oz another game - did not even pretend to be objective. The best we can hope for out of all of this - Nick Berri never to ref another SA game and Jonker never to come near the WBs.
Brad
Roar Rookie
Apparently Rassie should have held a press conference, expressed his disgust at the referee (without any evidence) and questioned his very appointment. Then everyone would have been fine with it
Brad
Roar Rookie
Bias? Which of our countries has evidence of clear and deliberate bias from the others' referees? 'Let's get the Japies'. We experience clear bias often enough and have evidence that it's real. Also, I've heard enough from the Roar community about it not mattering if the ref got it wrong - you follow proper channels. It is very clear that the outrage over Rassie was disingenuous. To attempt to maintain the high ground as both the 'victim' and the 'perpetrator' is just so rich. Rennie did to Jonker what Rassie did to Berry in a far more public and direct manner.
Brad
Roar Rookie
That's such a one-sided view you must be intentionally glossing over a lot of nuance. And to suggest I don't appreciate the psyche of South African rugby :laughing: The Springboks legitimately felt the 1st match was influenced by the Lions deliberate media machine. And they were patently right. All this talk of Rassie blackmailing Berry - he wanted clarity to ensure that his team could be as prepared as possible to play to the ref, a critical component of the modern game at the top. What he got instead was obfuscation. Makes me wonder how deliberate it was on WR's as well as Berry's part. There was clearly much behind the scenes chat going on between all officials, but Rassie is afforded only silence and a muted apology for the clear and significant mistakes. The fact that his video did influence the 2nd test only proves his points, particularly on media influence on referees. The only difference between Rassie and Rennie is that Rassie had a clear and present urgency to turn a tide, while Rennie's only motivation at the end of the season could be to humiliate Jonker and ruin his career. In the week of Rassie's verdict and punishment and right after his weighing in on poor Berry's treatment, this is pure arrogance from Rennie
gooch
Roar Rookie
And I think many Aussies would agree that Cheika does not speak on behalf of us. His interviews were cringe.
gooch
Roar Rookie
The addition of technology in the game has in no way improved it. I think we can all agree we enjoyed the game more without it. I'm more than happy to accept human error and even 'benefit of the doubt' for tries, rewarding the attacking team. Human error will balance out over the course of the game. Not perfectly 50/50, but just as close as any game with the TMO. The TMO can review the cynical and dangerous play that is missed by the referee and then hand out appropriate sanctions post-match.
graymatter
Roar Rookie
Rubbish! As to defending himself it would be a waste of time as Rennie clearly understands. Jonka's actions are indefensible. Rennie quite clearly said that they would provide feedback to the match officials as they had previously done and received an apology AND would likely receive another one. What he rightly indicated was that this is small recompense to the players. I also think your statement about Rennie deliberately trying to destroy Jonka's career is a blatant lie and offensive. He just wants accountability and honesty. Jonker should however expect to be stood down.
graymatter
Roar Rookie
Brad you are just being obstinate. These two examples are way different. Several posters have accurately described the differences. And if it was just one instance then perhaps it could be excused as a mistake. However any examination of Jonker's performances in several matches at test or SR level indicate that he is deliberately biased in favor of SA teams. What the two circumstances do have in common is that they show some SA officials and coaching staff will stop at nothing to ensure the outcome of a game. Maybe the desire to win from the SA public and the establishment or to be seen as better than the ABs or WBs puts too much pressure on them? Whatever the reason its not providing a fair contest. It has got to the stage that when I see the appointed officials for a match I pretty much forecast the outcome. Jonka's performance in that game as the TMO, following on from his preceding and admitted error in the prior test just re-enforces this perception. He should be stood down.
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Brad. You’re either intentionally missing the point of the RE video or you genuinely don’t understand his cynical desperation to pull back a series he was looking increasingly likely to lose because his side were underprepared and misfiring. The same questions would apply to your appreciation of the psyche of South Africa to the game of rugby and its win at all costs mentality. The evidence of the success of this desperate roll of the dice was on plain view in the debacle of the second test, seemingly played over an entire afternoon, at a tempo my grandparents could have coped with and with the kind of kid gloves my over sensitive niece would appreciate. There are some parallels to Rennie’s outburst but none of the new level cynicism Erasmus brought to our sport.
Harty
Roar Rookie
You truly think this is the same EFF? There are similarities in that both criticised referee decisions sure. Rennie's we could consider the orthodox limit of this behaviour and he should receive a fine. Erasmus blew so far past what any coach had done before (and he wasn't even the coach!) in that it was premediated, incredibly long, in the middle of a live series and as such designed to influence the referees for the following game.
Brad
Roar Rookie
Yes, Erasmus questioned the ref's decisions and WR processes - Rennie questioned the very fact that Jonker was even appointed. I see the difference
Chris Love
Roar Guru
Questioning someone’s character and competence are two completely different things.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
No ...PeterK ..SA Rugby has a gripe with World Rugby ..