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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.
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“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.
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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.
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“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.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
The whole thing has blown up because Eben’s words have clearly struck a nerve in Ireland. Otherwise they would just laugh it off. I think some former Irish players, commentators and some Irish fans know deep down this Ireland team started to believe its own press and that a certain amount of arrogance had started to creep in during the World Cup. The topic was actually brought up by Irish pundits on Off the Ball recently. It’s fine to be arrogant if you can back it up. Ireland didn’t.
20 Go to comments‘The Irish are good people'. Why is Goode praising a people who hate his own? Wet wipe.
20 Go to commentsLa mejor final que se puede ver en el emisferio norte.
1 Go to commentsA lot of cope from south africans in the comments. Etzebeth is a liar and a hypocrite; you don’t have to defend him!
20 Go to commentsHe got big and really slow for a flyhalf…not sure he’s relevant in a bok conversation anymore
4 Go to commentsBest tourney team vs best team in the regular season for 3 games in RSA - talk is cheap, let’s see what’s what on the tour
20 Go to commentsOne overlooked statistic from their 2016 winning season is the Huricanes are still the only team in Super rugby history not to concede a try during the playoff rounds.
4 Go to commentsThanks for the article, Nick. The Nienaber blitz D does ask a lot of its scrumhalf. I have been watching JGP on D and he often looks like he has mastered what Nienaber asks for better than Faf de Klerk and Cobus Reinach! 🤣 Impressive season by JGP if I must make an understatement.
21 Go to commentsOkay last one. I promise. I think it’s despicable for Andy Goode to suggest that Eben can’t count to 12. To be fair he only had to count to 8 - the number of Irishmen who DIDN’T say that. Less the 3 kiwis of course. 23 - 12 - 3 = 8. See Joe. I can do maffs.
20 Go to commentsCheers, Nick! How do you see the Reds’ Jock Campbell’s play this year? Not as strong a carrier as Andrew Kellaway or Tom Wright, but does avoid errors. Do you see Joe Schmidt as wanting safety first at 15 or a try-assisting counterattacker?
85 Go to commentsI’m sure this was all just a big misunderstanding. Irishmen and Afrikaaners conversing in a noisey stadium. Not easy to get the right messages across. A minefield.
20 Go to commentsSay what you will about Andy Goode. But he is right about one thing… I’m not sure what that one thing is exactly… but I’m willing to hear him out.
20 Go to commentsAnother article to bait and trigger Irish fans. This must stop.
20 Go to commentsHi Nick. Thanks for your +++ ongoing analysis. Re Vunivalu, He’s been benched recently and it will be interesting to see what Kiss does with him as we enter the backend of SRP. I’m still not sold.
85 Go to commentsIn the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
1 Go to commentsI’d be fascinated to see what other candidates you all might have for the Lions captaincy role. Let me know, below 👍
2 Go to comments“ planning for the next cycle….” Sigh ill-advised language Elton old juice bean. Ppersonally glad you self-eliminated yourself, there were better players in the position around you.
4 Go to commentsRegardless of best in world etc. Lawes was outstanding against Leinster and has been all season. Looked like three try saving turnovers. His turnovers also contributed to NH scores. Immense performance.
2 Go to commentsDickson now considered the top ref in England it appears. Good that these series are getting one NH and one SH ref.
2 Go to commentsI don’t think any coach or selector would ever rely on Blackadder being available for selection. I didn’t think it would be possible but he has easily eclipsed Ennor as they most injured player of all time. IMO a symptom of today’s game where players are required to carry at least 10kg of extra mass from when they first hit the scene in their early 20s. Some players respond well to this, maybe due to genetics allowing them to recover faster, or not having reached their peak natural weight yet, but for others the constant training to maintain their weight eats away at recovery time and they spend most of their careers injured.
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