MANCHESTER – Samoa coach Matt Parish has fired up at World Cup Final referee Ashley Klein, describing him as ‘weak’ after he failed to send off Kangaroos forward Angus Crichton for a raised elbow on Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Crichton was binned and put on report for the incident but Parish thought he should have been marched altogether.
“Five minutes into the second half and our hooker gets elbowed in the head and carted off,” said the coach.
“The referee made a weak decision to put him in the bin. (I’m) dumbfounded. An elbow to the head, the hooker gets knocked and he’s taken out of the game, what do you think?”
Chanel Harris-Tavita lays motionless in Manchester. (Photo by Dave Howarth – CameraSport via Getty Images)
While he was in the bin, Australia defended strongly and actually scored through Cameron Murray. Mal Meninga was incredulous when told of Parish’s reaction to the incident.
“Seriously?” said the Kangaroos coach. “My view was that he should have stayed on the field. It was silly. We copped it, and to be honest, we handled it really well. That was our best ten minutes of the game where defensively we were outstanding and kept on turning up for each other.
Harris-Tavita said his last memory was Samoa’s pre-game Siva Tau.
“I didn’t even know we were playing in a final,” he told AAP. “They said we beat England last week and I couldn’t remember that.”
Crichton apologised to the Warriors playmaker in the sheds and had his fingers crossed that he would not cop a ban for the start of next year’s NRL season with the Roosters.
(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for RLWC)
“It was a reaction, I didn’t know he was coming,” Crichton said. “There was no malice in it at all. I apologised to him after the game and he knows that I didn’t try to injure him.
“I’m a good person who plays the game the way it is meant to be played.”
Parish stopped short of blaming the referee for the result, but said that his side would have needed everything to go their way to stand a chance against a strong Kangaroos side.
Alongside the Crichton incident, there was also a 40/20 early on that clearly went into touch but was missed by the officials and Australia were allowed to play on.
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“The result is disappointing but not the effort or commitment of these guys,” said Parish.
“I couldn’t be prouder or happier with the group. We never got close enough to put enough pressure on them.
“We didn’t get much luck: there was clearly a 40/20 in the first five minutes that didn’t go our way.
“We didn’t take our chances, but they’re a great thing. We needed a lot of things to go right for us. We were down to 19 players – that’s all we had left in the squad. It was very courageous.”
It’s not the first time Klein has been given a spray by a coach after a World Cup final defeat. Ricky Stuart infamously called Klein a a “f…ing cheat” and “the c… who cost us the World Cup” when he saw the officials in a hotel foyer the day after the Kangaroos’ loss to New Zealand in 2008. Stuart later apologised for his “inappropriate and offensive” comments.
a
Guest
Didn’t Mitch Barnett get sent off for something silmar
Kevin
Guest
Hahaha Ivan / Nathan ,they're like " Daddos" these days , Hey Roar can U ask the ex referee whom used to write and comment to pass judgement and clarify the rules of the decision here ??
Paulo
Roar Rookie
I think it would be a red, but more so because of how Rugby looks at these things, not necessarily because of the act. I think I said it before, but for me the issue is raising the elbow at the height of the incoming player, pointing to elbow out. He did it earlier in that ‘phase’ when he bumped off a defender, so it’s technique, but it’s dangerous. Like I said too, I don’t know where this sits in the league spectrum so won’t speculate. But would have thought it’s a card of some colour, considering where the game is now ‘focused’. Also, thank you for taking the time to rewatch it for the whistle timing. Most people would just stick to there guns on how they remembered it, instead of actually double checking. A lot of people are talking about “dead ball” and “well after the whistle”. It never happened.
soapit
Roar Guru
fair enough just checked the timing and the ref took a while to blow it. i think tho in the scheme of things chrighton barely touched him and its as much an unnecessary unlucky head postition from the samoan so i dont think it would be a red in rugby.
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Can't say Ivan's tackle rings any bells. What year was that ?
Cam
Roar Rookie
Yep that was my point, play was still live when CTH is put to sleep (contact at the exact same time the whistle is blown). Angus got 2 weeks, which was probably right in the middle of where he could have landed with the judiciary. He misses the Dolphins and the Warriors, so no great worry to have him sit out for the Roosters.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
“So he could use a new defence, that actually resembles something that occurred” The can be said for all the “dead ball”, “play was dead”, “after the whistle” brigade. They need to rewatch and listen for the whistle. It doesn’t happen until contact occurs, play wasn’t dead and TH was entitled to attempt a tackle.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Agree, except that play was dead. It wasn’t. Ref blew whistle as contact occurs, not before.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
Yea, you’re wrong on this one mate. Whistle blows as the contact occurs. Watch a replay, there is no whistle below the contact. The issue for me is raising the elbow to the height of THs head, regardless of whether it’s past Chrictons armpit or not. It’s designed to hit high and hurt, I don’t think he meant to knock him out, but definitely hurt him enough for him to feel it. In Union this a red all day. In league, I don’t know, maybe this is about right on a yellow. I don’t know there tolerance enough to judge it. But I do know when the whistle blew.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
It wasn’t a dead ball when the contact occurs. Whistle goes right when contact occurs.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
“ Tevita came at him after the whistle blew.” Actually the whistle goes about the some time the contact occurred. Watch the clip on you tube if you can’t replay on Stan. https://youtu.be/QMdgSqOqhYc
Cam
Roar Rookie
You can disagree all you like, doesn't it make you any less wrong. The footage is a public record, cue it up on Kayo or Youtube and turn the volume up. Tevita-Harris is already counting sheep when you hear the whistle blow.
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
I grew up with the Three Stooges, so ...
soapit
Roar Guru
Disagree. There was plenty of time after the whistle to realise.
sheek
Roar Guru
HR, And in your hysteria to be personal, you don't understand anything I've said. Anyway, I don't need to explain myself to some random.
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Great call, Jackie. He got this one 100% right. He's had a record breaking year and should be off wearing a nappy and signing ACCA DAKKA songs at Mad Monday
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
You just go straight for the throat, don't you? What a pain in the neck
HR
Guest
Your lack of self awareness is astonishing. You are the person with the most black and white views on citizenship and nationality....ironically driven largely by black (bad) and white (superior) view points.
EastsFootyFan
Roar Guru
It was never a send off… it was barely a penalty. All Crichton did was brace for contact after CHS came in late, with poor tackling technique. This isn’t Union and so we shouldn’t be seeing cards for incidents that are just bad luck.
sheek
Roar Guru
Kevin, The world isn't mostly black or white, it's mostly grey, & the trick to life is figuring the amount of grey. And yes, like it or not, there are exceptions to many situations, as frustrating as that may appear to a black or white guy like you.