Former Wallaby: 'We've got to start cheating better'

Former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles believes that Australian Super Rugby teams need to get better at cheating if they are to compete with New Zealand sides.

The 16-test Wallaby didn’t hold back after several questionable calls spoiled the Waratahs’ chances of securing their first win in Christchurch in 14 years and the first Australian win against a New Zealand side in 38 matches.

“The reality is, we’ve got to start cheating better,” Hoiles said on Fox Sports after the match.

“That’s what we as Aussies need to do. We need to start running players off the ball.

“We have to be a little bit craftier off the ball. That’s what Australian rugby needs to do. We can’t let the referee make all these decisions.”

The biggest black mark on the game came in the 35th minute when referee Ben O’Keeffe along with the touch judges and television match official failed to notice All Black and Crusaders prop Joe Moody’s cheap shot on Waratahs midfielder Kurtley Beale, taking him out of the play with an elbow to the neck before running in support to score a try.

“That’s an elbow to the throat of a player unprotected. It’s a red-card offence. The try should not be scored. The guy should not be on the field,” analyst and former Wallaby Rod Kafer said during the Fox Sports broadcast of the match.

Moody’s try started the Crusaders’ historic comeback as they erased a 29-point deficit in 50 minutes to complete the biggest comeback in Super Rugby history.

Moody has since been cited for the incident, and the citing commissioner ruled that it met the red card threshold for foul play, conceding that Moody should have been sent from the field.

Former Wallabies captain George Gregan believes a Moody send-off would have given the game a completely different look.

“They push the envelope right to the last minute,” Gregan said.

“There’s probably a couple you could say: ‘Hang on, maybe he could blow the whistle’ but you won’t because you’ve been pushing it the whole time and that’s what good teams do and the referee lets that go.”

The Waratahs were denied a chance to steal the game in the last minute after a top tackle, with referee O’Keeffe choosing to ignore Michael Hooper’s request for a review.

“I’m not saying Bernard Foley is going to kick that because he missed two sitters but they should have had a penalty on the bell with another chance to win it,” Hoiles said.

“I don’t like the fact when a captain shows respect, doesn’t harass him all game and asks him for something to be looked at, it’s a penalty every day of the week.”

The Waratahs will have two more chances to defeat Kiwi competition during the regular season. They will host the Highlanders in Sydney next weekend before they cross the Tasman once more to take on the Chiefs in Hamilton.

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