England react to referee Raynal's emergency All Blacks appointment
England have reacted to the development on Tuesday that Mathieu Raynal, not Nic Berry, will be the referee in charge of this Saturday’s glamour Twickenham fixture versus the All Blacks. The Australian referee, who was at the heart of the 62-minute video critique that last year culminated in Rassie Erasmus’ lengthy ban, had last month been chosen by the World Rugby referees department to be on the whistle when Eddie Jones’ team hosts Ian Foster’s New Zealand.
However, that appointment was scratched on Tuesday when it was confirmed that Berry was now unavailable for personal reasons and that Raynal, who had been pencilled in to be in charge of this Saturday’s Romania-Samoa game in Bucharest, would instead be refereeing in London.
It’s the second successive sudden call-up for Raynal as he was also appointed as the emergency referee for last Saturday’s Ireland versus Fiji match in Dublin after Jaco Peyper reported an injury.
The low key November 19 match in Bucharest was the only game Raynal has been appointed the referee for when World Rugby released its original list of appointments for 40 matches across the Autumn Nations Series Test programme, suggesting he has fallen down the pecking order following his controversial time-wasting penalty against Australia in September.
Raynal had penalised Australia’s Bernard Foley when he had a penalty that he was readying to kick into touch with time almost up against the All Blacks at the Marvel Stadium. The hotly debated call handed the All Blacks possession and they soon scored to grab victory from the jaws of defeat, igniting arguments around the rugby world over whether Raynal was correct to be so strict about what he had done.
With Raynal having now replaced Berry for this Saturday’s match at Twickenham, what had England made of the refereeing switch? “Looking at that Australia-New Zealand situation, what it is is a lesson to players,” reckoned Anthony Seibold, Eddie Jones’ defence coach who will leave at the end of this month to take up the head coach role at Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL. “We have not spoken about it with the playing group but it is a lesson to players all around the world, referees want continuity.
“Rugby union is a game where it is a contest versus a continuity game. Obviously, at each ruck, there is a contest, when the ball is in the air there is a contest but in between that supporters and referees, they want continuity so I get the lesson that was learned out of that [the Raynal decision in Melbourne]
“We have spoken about that previously as a coaching staff. When that happened it was before one of our coaches’ meetings so we spoke about, ‘Okay, well how can we prepare the players?’ If you guys [the media] have come down to training you would have seen we train with a lot of great intensity, with not much coach talking between the different drills.
“So I feel as though we prepare the players regardless, that we want continuity but also to be really prudent with the contest part of the game as well. It [the Raynal appointment] won’t make any difference to how we play but it is a good lesson to all players that if you deliberately stop the game, then there are obviously consequences at different times.”
Raynal last took charge of an England match eight months ago and his decision to red card Charlie Ewels after 82 seconds was a massive talking point after Ireland came away with the Guinness Six Nations win.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hopefully 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.
3 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 commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
1 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
3 Go to commentsWell one thing about World Cup knock out rounds and Ireland is very clear: they won’t be getting ahead of themselves in ‘27! Because making it beyond the QF is well and truly ‘IN THEIR HEADS’ now…😉
75 Go to commentsHas this guy been dope tested? Sounds like a case of “roid rage”.
1 Go to commentsI would like to see him say that to Eben face to face in a dark alley.
75 Go to commentsYep, lost in translation. There are arrogant people in Ireland, yes. As there are arrogant people in every country, but as a nation, arrogance is not a general characteristic in Ireland. There has not really had a strong representation for any global sport over the years, and hence arrogance is not endemic to Irish people in this regard. I seriously doubt that was said or meant by 12 or 13 players. If it was said, it would have been said in jest and to pay Etzebeth and the Springboks a compliment for how hard fought the game was.
75 Go to commentsOne of the few Bidwell articles I can agree with. If coaches played their players through niggles and consistently played them 80mins then you could make an argument for resting protocols - they obviously don’t and are incredibly responsible, let’s give up the resting nonsense and let the boys play.
4 Go to commentsDaniel Gallan, please for the love of all that is holy, stop writing about rugby. Or at the very least stop telling people you are South African.
21 Go to commentsThis Dr.Rassie 6-2 filth is spreading. We need to ask World Rugby to ban something
1 Go to commentsPity he couldn’t call him a liar to his face, such a brave man.
75 Go to comments“You ain’t counting to 12 or 13 straight after a game, son!” Just because you don’t doesn’t mean everyone else doesn’t “I reckon if anyone said it they would have said, ‘Hopefully, see you in the final’.” Oh, you “reckon”, do you? You weren’t there, you weren’t part of the conversation but you know what was said… Id10T
75 Go to commentsNZ has such a rich history of quality number nines, and woman beaters.
1 Go to commentsThat’s what happens when you are scared of scrums
3 Go to comments