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'I wasn't talking about the Biggar incident...': Wasps boss Blackett clarifies criticism
Frustrated Wasps boss Lee Blackett has revisited last Saturday’s criticism of Adam Leal and what he felt was a lack of assistance for the inexperienced referee from the officials around him, namely seasoned TMO Graham Hughes who was also on duty for the 30-25 home Gallagher Premiership win by Northampton.
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Last year’s beaten finalists have been dragged into an excruciating battle to try and qualify for next season’s Heineken Champions Cup, a task made all the more difficult by the news that next weekend’s Gloucester versus Bath match has been cancelled due to a virus outbreak.
With Bath poised to receive four match points from the called off game and Gloucester two, the state of play will have troubling change for Wasps who were in eighth on the table after last weekend’s losing bonus point, the cut-off point for Champions Cup qualification.
That points split would lift Bath from ninth into seventh on 47 points, push London Irish down to eighth on 44 points and leave Wasps tied in ninth spot with Gloucester on 43 points, hugely increasing the stakes surrounding next Saturday’s visit by Blackett’s side to the Brentford-based Exiles ahead of their campaign-ending June 12 home game versus mid-table Leicester.
“There is no second chance,” reckoned Blackett even though Wasps have two games remaining in their season. “We have got to win if we want to be in the top eight. You have the news breaking at the moment about the Bath and Gloucester game.
This was set to be a huge 10th versus 9th place battle in the race for Champions Cup qualification https://t.co/Xc1ANYTnDp
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 1, 2021
“That puts Bath above us and drops us into ninth before the (Irish) game… if we don’t win at the weekend you will find yourself out of it. At this moment in time, destiny is still in our own hands about making that top eight and Europe, but I don’t think you are going to get two opportunities at that. This weekend we are treating it as our final,” he said.
“That’s exactly how we are treating it. If we want to be playing in Europe we have to win this game at the weekend, there is no second chance. This is not the final we want to be involved in, fighting for a European spot at the end of the season, but it has got a little bit of extra spice in it.”
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Reverting to what controversially unfolded at Franklin’s Gardens last weekend, Blackett explained that he had since been in touch on a few occasions with rookie referee Leal, who was only in charge of his eleventh-ever Premiership match, and Premiership referees boss Tony Spreadbury to try and assuage the irritation he initially touched on in his post-match Wasps media briefing.
“We have put it behind us. I have had conversations with the referee, I have spoken to him a couple of times since the game. It’s not (just) for himself, it’s for our understanding as well. I spoke to Tony as well. Look, I was really frustrated after the game. It’s a difficult one, we just felt a lot of the decisions went against us. Any 50/50 seemed to go against us,” continued Blackett, who the previous week warned about what he felt was an increase in the Premiership in high tackled players over-reacting to get tacklers carded.
“One thing we will always do, and we spoke about it today [Tuesday] with the players, we are not looking to make excuses. I’m not looking to make excuses. The referee didn’t make us drop the ball. The referee didn’t make us run into touch. Even with the majority of the decisions all going against us we got down into the 22 15 times and a lot of things went against us.
“I don’t want to reflect on the last ten minutes. When I was talking after the game I wasn’t talking about any individual aspect. I wasn’t talking about the (Dan) Biggar incident, I wasn’t talking about the slap-down for the try. I felt there was a lot of decisions that were incorrect, probably went against us, and the worst thing about it, I felt for the referee.
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“I felt he could have got a little more help, especially TMO who let him down a bit at the weekend. Referees are just like players, they make mistakes… I don’t mind people making mistakes, we all make mistakes – we’re humans. But when you have got a TV and you can review it a few more times it’s a little bit harder for me to take.”
Asked to elaborate on the specifics of his conversations with Leal as Wasps boss, Blackett said: “There would be some things [decisions] that are debatable and then there will be others where they will say, ‘Yeah, we got that wrong’ and that is where we were. We spoke about several clips, several parts of the game.
“I must admit, Adam has masses of potential. I have seen him a couple of times now, he has got bucketloads of potential. Tony put a team that was experienced around him and if his team had just helped him out on a couple of occasions he would have walked away with a good performance as a referee.
“I don’t think he would have a ridiculous amount wrong. There were a few little things but that is always going to happen and that’s it, the team could have helped him around him a little bit better. The problem when you debate about officials like this is it sounds like you are making excuses, I’m not making excuses about how we performed. There was a lot of positive stuff from us but there were things we can work on to get better. I expect our execution to be better than it was at times – and that is not the referee’s fault.”
'We all know what happened then'
Lee Blackett has taken umbrage with TMO Graham Hughes, even going as far as to bring up a previous decision he presided over earlier in the year. https://t.co/nKUoLXmRRO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 30, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments