Chiefs star Brad Weber vents frustration at 'laughable' refereeing calls in wake of Blues defeat
Chiefs star Brad Weber has labelled some of the refereeing decisions that have cost his side Super Rugby Aotearoa victories in recent weeks as “laughable”.
It comes after his side were subjected to their sixth loss in as many games on Sunday after a controversial refereeing decision late in their 21-17 defeat to the Blues at Eden Park denied them their first win of the campaign.
The frustration among Chiefs players was clear to see when No. 8 Pita Gus Sowakula looked to have scored under a pile of bodies in the dying minutes of the clash, but was denied by referee Brendon Pickerill, who instead handed a penalty to the Blues.
The New Zealand Herald reported skipper Sam Cane, first-five Aaron Cruden and midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown all surrounded Pickerill after the as they took issue to the game-changing call.
Cruden could be seen questioning Pickerill’s decision when the call was made, while Lienert-Brown didn’t hide his emotions post-match as he was adamant Sowakula had scored what would have been the match-winning try.
“In big moments, we’ve got the TMO for a reason,” Lienert-Brown told Newstalk ZB immediately after the encounter.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of a lot of calls this whole year and when it counted, when we needed it, why not go upstairs? I was a little bit frustrated. In a massive moment I think we’ve got to use the TMO.”
The recent behaviour of Super Rugby Aotearoa stars sparked comments from New Zealand Rugby’s referees boss Bryce Lawrence, who called into question the “hostile” nature in which players are reacting to refereeing decisions.
“I definitely have an issue when other players who aren’t the captain come running in and asking the referee to do things and telling the referee how to referee the game,” Lawrence told Stuff.
“And demanding the referee do things. And I personally don’t like the way some players are challenging the referees in quite a hostile body language and verbally.”
“That’s something we will review at the end of this competition because I know there’s a wide range of rugby people that aren’t that thrilled with the way some of that behaviour is going at the moment,” he added.
New Zealand Rugby's referees boss Bryce Lawrence is urging players to show more respect for those who hold the whistle.https://t.co/0HoXKd63bN
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Lawrence said he had consulted with Pickerill about Sowakula’s denied try, with Pickerill determining that the loose forward was short of the line and that the Blues deserved a penalty as he didn’t release the ball.
He was therefore satisfied that he didn’t need to consult with the TMO.
Speaking to RugbyPass, Weber shared Lienert-Brown’s exasperation at a string of calls that have gone against the winless Chiefs in recent weeks.
“To be honest, it’s kind of getting a little bit laughable at times,” he told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“For three or four weeks running we haven’t had the rub of the green in key moments, so we’re certainly learning how to deal with it pretty quickly.
“It’s getting pretty frustrating and really emotionally draining.
“[We] put so much into a week to try and get a result, and then to come up short like the way we have, particularly the last couple of weeks, is pretty draining.”
It’s the second week running where the Chiefs have had a significant officiating call go against them after star playmaker Damian McKenzie was wrongly denied a try that would have secured victory over the Highlanders in round six.
McKenzie appeared to have scored after slicing the opposition defence apart, but, upon referral with the TMO, an accidental offside call from earlier in the sequence of play was made against first-five Kaleb Trask.
Lawrence admitted after the match that the wrong outcome had been reached, as the infringement had occurred more than two phases before the try was scored.
He said that while the right decision was made, as Trask had committed an accidental offside offence, the wrong process was carried out by the officials.
The Chiefs went on to lose 33-31 thanks to an injury time try to Highlanders midfielder Sio Tomkinson.
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Weber said that although the Chiefs were appreciative of the referees admitting they made the wrong calls, it doesn’t change the outcome of the match.
“There’s a lot of fight in the group, so we certainly aren’t folding over or anything,” the five-test All Blacks halfback said.
“We’ll certainly give the Crusaders a heck of a crack this weekend, but it’s frustrating getting apologies from referees saying they got key moments wrong.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter for us, because we still get a loss in the loss column.
“So, as much as we appreciate them admitting that they might have got something wrong, that sort of doesn’t help our fortunes at the moment.
“You’d almost rather they didn’t say anything.
“I guess they know that they were wrong, and that confirms our thinking, that we’re not just complaining at nothing, it’s just frustrating that we’re not getting any of those calls run our way.
“One week it’s a try pulled back, and then the next week they don’t even check, and it’s pretty tough to take after a while.”
Veteran Blues hooker James Parsons sympathised with Weber and the Chiefs after having endured a multitude of luckless results since debuting for the Auckland franchise in 2012.
While the Blues are currently enjoying a good run of results to emerge as title contenders this season, Parsons has been part of squads in years gone by that have finished deep in the bottom half of Super Rugby standings.
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“I’ve been where they are, it’s tough,” the two-test All Black, who missed the Chiefs clash on Sunday through injury, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“The littlest decisions feel like the weight of the world when you’re wanting something so bad.
“It’s exactly that – it’s more emotional, and it just drains you because every you week, you start, you build yourself up and say ‘Right, this is the week, this will turn it around’, and you put a hell of a lot into it, and then it comes down to something so simple as that in the 81st minute.
“I’ve been on the other side of it many a time, and you do feel like – because they do mount up and you do get the emails from refs saying they got it wrong and they do mount up – it does become frustrating.”
Parsons added that the Chiefs should remain undeterred from the recent lack of results, highlighting Saturday’s clash against the Crusaders in Hamilton as a prime opportunity to prove their worth.
“Being a proud team like the Chiefs, being at home against the Crusaders, where they’ve already done a job on them, the teams haven’t changed so much [from] earlier in the year, it makes for an exciting clash this weekend,” he said.
“A Chiefs side with nothing to lose, there’s plenty to fear.”
Comments on RugbyPass
As long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
120 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
120 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
4 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
120 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
4 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to comments