We value your privacy

We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device for personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, and audience insights, as well as to develop and improve products.

With your permission we and our partners may use precise geolocation. You may click to consent to our and our partners’ processing as described above. Please note that some processing of your personal data may not require your consent, but you have a right to object to such processing.

More Options

Sun 1 Dec 2013 | 08:10
Wallabies end tour on a high with victory over Wales in Cardiff

34
Comments

Wales coach Warren Gatland has suggested that referee Wayne Barnes is partly to blame for his team's 30-26 loss to the Wallabies at the Millennium Stadium. The visitors scored a try through Joe Tomane that Gatland said shouldn't have been allowed.

The Autumn Internationals concluded with a brilliant game of rugby that thrilled from start to finish in Cardiff. George North scored within a few minutes to set the tone, but the Wallabies came back and with Quade Cooper looking back to his best, they stretched their lead and looked out of sight.

Cooper, playing his 50th Test, was quite controversially yellow carded for what Barnes deemed to be an early tackle, but Australia held on for the win despite plenty of pressure from the Welsh.

An unbelievable statistic from the match is that there was not a single scrum in the first half.

Barnes has come under fire though, particularly for the decision to allow the Tomane try from a flat Israel Folau pass. He sought the help of the TMO, but after watching it on the big screen himself, ruled that it wasn't clear and obviously forward (hands not travelling forward), so gave it.

Gatland suggested that if it were New Zealand played, Barnes wouldn't have made the call. "It looked forward to me. In games as close as this you need things like that to go your way.

"The referee made the decision himself, without the TMO. I doubt he would have made that decision himself if it was the All Blacks playing."

Gatland added that he hadn't spoken to Barnes about it, as it wasn't going to change the result. He also hinted that when Cooper was yellow carded, it could have been a penalty try.

As for the Tomane try, Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie said: "We've had five or six of those denied during the year. As far as I know, the pass has come out of the hands backwards and that's it.

"I think there has been a lot of discussion in the refereeing group and from what I saw that's exactly the way they adjudicated that, so that the circumstances around that are quite clear."

Despite being rated by some as the best team in the Northen Hemisphere, this was Wales' ninth loss in succession to the Wallabies, who themselves haven't had the best of years but appear to be on an upward curve after a satisfying overseas tour where they only lost once, to England.

Posted By: Grant Constable

34 Comments

  • drg
    11:52 AM 05/12/2013

    Not entirely sure how the 6 Nation teams can be called average. Does that mean that NZ, SA, AUS are the top teams, 6N teams are average and the rest of the world is so unbelievably shit that they might as well just give up because they're wasting space in the rugby universe? Because that is how arrogant and soccer styled that comment is.

    Ireland have been playing some of their poorest rugby for a long time and still nearly claimed a victory against NZ. Last world cup one of those average 6N teams was in the final and should have won if not for petrified refereeing. Aus; a great team, lost against one of the average 6 Nations teams this tour. In fact if I recall correctly none of the "big three" thrashed anyone apart from Scotland...

  • 11:34 AM 05/12/2013

    I disagree about North mate. Watching the game although he scored a wicked try and put some big hits in, his defensive awareness and positioning was poor, really gifting two Oz tries. I know everyone bigs up the lead up play by QC which was brilliant with the flick offloads, the fact is if he hadn't come in and defended as a winger should - staying on his man, there shouldn't have been those 2 tries.

  • 11:29 AM 05/12/2013

    loool Poite, you serious? :) I normally dislike Barnes as I think he prevents the game flowing. However, I think the TMO would have given the same decision with the current interpretations and that's that. Don't see why he should wait for the TMO's opinion when it is clearly up on the big screen - he's the ref, it's his call.

  • alesana
    7:18 PM 04/12/2013

    They should've not gone to the TMO the referee & touch judge were right there to make the call. The officials aren't always going to be 100%, part of the challenge of life is to accept difficult decisions & move on. I personally learned this growing up watching sport without video reviews. Foul play aside, big decisions should be left on field & people should respect the decisions made by the officials.

  • drg
    5:16 PM 03/12/2013

    Yeup, I totally agree. A long pass could result in the ball travelling OVER the defensive line..

  • jimothy
    2:19 PM 03/12/2013

    Gatland? Is that you?????

  • eatmyrugbyshorts
    12:45 AM 03/12/2013

    Some great hands from Tomane there:
    - Try 1 holding on to Cooper's offload behind and above his head while running at full pace
    - Try 3 picking up Folau's pass off his toes
    Both could so easily have been dropped.

    Other thoughts:
    - Wales did well to come back from 30-16 down
    - Everything Quade Cooper tried came off in that game - it won't always work out like that
    - Both Folau & North are unstoppable at times
    - Last few mins Wales at 4 points down kick the ball away - twice. Why??
    - Phillips is lucky to get away with that stamp - but as Cooper got away with kneeing McCaw a couple of years ago I'm inclined to say what goes around comes around
    - AUS deserved the win. Great team performance - they created quick ball then attacked (and scored) at pace out wide. Wales' ruck speed looked slow in comparison.

    Moment of the match: Justin Marshall - "BOOMFAH!". Surely got to go in the Friday Funnies section.

  • icy
    11:53 PM 02/12/2013

    For me regardless of IRB laws you either rule in both the Tomane & first North tries or ping for scrums.

    The Williams to North pass goes further forward but was a longer pass. Neither Williams nor Folau are travelling at pace when passing, and the ball travels from their hands to nearer the opposition try line, BUT if either continued at the same pace in the same direction they would be about level with where the ball was caught by North/Tomane. My understanding of the accepted version of the rulebook by all international referees we've seen recently is that this constitutes a legal pass.

    I do think this needs to be better communicated to fans and commentators to stop this debate.

    My concern is that at some point a back running 20mph is going to fling a lateral (momentum adjusted) pass 20 metres across the pitch which ends a long way (I can't be bothered to to the maths on it) forwards. We'd either have a fairly flat attacking line breezing through a defensive line at pace while the ball flies overhead or an unfairly adjudged forward pass.

    Even a TMO with HD3DSLoMo isn't going to be able to judge the direction of the hands on release in a case like that. They'll all need speedometers & wind gauges along with lessons on trigonometry, form drag etc. to justify themselves to Warren Gatland and the casual rugby commenter.

  • al_woody7
    11:13 PM 02/12/2013

    HA what a complete rookie comment. Who dropped the ball ten metres from the try line on 75 mins, four points behind, last attacking chance, because he poo pooed himself? Captains don't do that I'm afraid. Wales are lucky to have two of the three world class players left in the home nations, one of them being Warburton.

  • samthehammerhopkins
    1:37 PM 02/12/2013

    I would also put Barnes up there with Nigel Owens as one of the best refs out there, not afraid to make the big calls. As a welshman I think the yellow was pretty harsh as its a split second timing issue, but the Folau pass was forward IMO. Ball came out of his right hand as last point of contact when passing to the right and most of his momentum was going sideways or diagonal at that point and the ball travelled in the same direction he was running for the entire pass. Great game though, very disappointed we kicked it away at the end as still had the chance to win it.

  • matthew
    1:25 PM 02/12/2013

    As an Englishman from Northampton, I'm very pleased we're getting him back for club duty now!

  • vsmash
    1:01 PM 02/12/2013

    I totally agree with Juggernauter, and partially agree with matt:
    I think it stinks when ref's get it wrong. Whatever the sides playing. Especially when they are obvious turning points. However with the England match they were definitely turning points and the line referee is paid to watch the line. It's his primary job and he was staring directly at the foot on the line in the still shot. The Ireland six nations game was ref'd by Caplan who was such a megalomaniac that he told O'Driscoll to wait a moment, but then blew the whistle anyway.
    Caplan's stats overall are drastically different to his stats reffing Wallabies or Waratahs and drastically different to his stats reffing the home team.
    Rant rant rant rant. On the whole I reckon the wobs rarely get the rub of the green and this is a rare occasion.

  • andyr
    12:55 PM 02/12/2013

    Gatland is a sore loser.

    As an Englishman, not looking forward to playing North again. That guy is now one of the best wingers in the world - immense player.

  • juggernauter
    12:33 PM 02/12/2013

    That's exactly my point, and it's that technology and TMo's can backfire a bit, when you are looking for any sign of a penalty, anything at all. Of course penalties should be fully sanctioned but when you are in a situation like that I'd say play on... In a contact sport like rugby, this kind of things happen, and if it's not dangerous I'd say play on.

  • welshosprey
    10:48 AM 02/12/2013

    Still manage to clean the six nations up every year though.

  • matt
    10:26 AM 02/12/2013

    I like barnes because he is confident and goes with what he believes is right everytime and doesn't bottle the big calls. But, I cannot understand why you would rush into a decision that is that marginal and important without waiting 4 or 5 seconds for confirmation from the guy sat inches away from the monitors.

  • matt
    10:23 AM 02/12/2013

    I have to say I disagree a bit, I like when Wales are losing, but I prefer it more when referees get called out on idiotic decisions because I think it is the only way that they will improve. The difference for me between this and the Aus v Eng match is that the ref and touchie were 50 metres away from Brown when he was in touch, and so a mistake like that can be understood, and the blocking on Moore was probably illegal, but falls firmly into the category of debatable. But, in that instance the ref asked the TMO and the TMO looked at the replays and gave his judgement. What I can't understand is for Barnes to ask the TMO for his opinion, and then cut him off before having heard it. We will never know what the TMO was going to give, and it could have had a huge impact.

  • eggman
    9:20 AM 02/12/2013

    He couldn't call advantage because there was a knock on. Also the only reason North scored was because the Aussies (Hooper and Folau) stopped playing after they saw the ball being knocked on

  • maljames
    9:13 AM 02/12/2013

    Cooper was the aussie game player we never had one ,he controlled the game so well and was so quick at what he done in the game ,we were slow

  • 9:10 AM 02/12/2013

    Come on Gatland no good finding fault with the ref this is not even a good Aussie side and still we failed to beat them. England played negative rugby but beat them sometime it's best to follow the leader on how to beat them.

  • miler
    9:01 AM 02/12/2013

    Perhaps .. the ref should have called advantage , the following play would have resulted in North under the posts ..

  • mort
    8:51 AM 02/12/2013

    cmon Gats...if the Quad sin binning was a penalty try to Wales then so was the Dan Biggar sin binning a penalty try to Aussie...fairs fair...so stop ya whinning your starting to sound like a pom !!

  • drg
    3:32 AM 02/12/2013

    Got to echo everyone with their comments regarding Gatland being a bit sour, as someone said it's mad Gatland could blame anyone but his own lads, 14 men against 15, man missing in the Aussie backline and Wales decide to try and chip the ball through?!?!?! I'm sorry but if anyone is to blame it's the Welsh composure.

    Already made my comments about Phillips needing to concentrate on playing the fooking game on the previous Wales video. Cooper recently has really matured so it appears Phillips attempts to make get a reaction didn't work too well..

    QC on 50 caps already?!?! Geez, good man!

  • drg
    3:23 AM 02/12/2013

    Disagree completely, it is at least a penalty. You cannot tackle someone early because you "thought" they had the ball, just the same as you cannot tackle someone LATE because you "thought" they still had the ball...

  • getitout
    1:01 AM 02/12/2013

    At this rate, England, Wales and Australia could be such a tough group, any 3 of them could potentially miss out. Going to be very exciting. As an Englishman I'd be lying if said I wasn't a little bit nervous.

  • 11:21 PM 01/12/2013

    Agreed except as a proud all black he'd probably be angry with u for calling him an Ozzie.

  • 11:11 PM 01/12/2013

    Whata whiner. I for one do not think this does any good for his team, blaming the game on the ref. it may make your boys feel better but I don't think it speaks to the reality of the game that they were just barely in that game. Heroic defence and some wallaby mistakes were the only things keeping this game from being blown completely wide open (I actually think they're conditioning makes a huge difference, I gotta go to Poland). Wallabies seem to be back to their confident barnstorming selves, good for rugby

  • totesmcgoates
    10:42 PM 01/12/2013

    Great game, North and Cooper were immense!

    Most people seem to be agreeing about the validity of Tomane's try; even though the ball certainly traveled forward it seems pretty clear that it went backwards out of Folau's hands.

  • jimothy
    10:20 PM 01/12/2013

    Interesting that Gatland blames the ref and not his own players for the loss! Australia were down to 14 men for the final ten minutes. They were one short in their back line with QC being in the bin. Not sure that the right call was to go for that stupid line out option rather than using North (who was amazing by the way) as a massive decoy runner to open up the field for the other talented Welsh backs! But hey, maybe Barnes told Warburton to make that call and it really is all his fault!!!

  • notawelshdavies
    9:53 PM 01/12/2013

    A complete advert for rugby union, especially when compared to the competition of the league final yesterday. (Having said that, I do love league) Skill levels were exceptionally high, and I think we're all glad that Quade Cooper has found form again.

    I can't help but think Barnes often gives too many penalties and prevents the game from flowing. The yellow card was almost certainly wrong, however, the call to give the forward pass I would say he got correct, as the build up play deserved a try.

  • welshosprey
    9:44 PM 01/12/2013

    Really don't rate Warburton as a captain. AWJ was there at every fight settling things down, where the hell was Warburton?
    Great game anyway, hopefully Wales experiment with Tipuric/Warburton against Italy because Lydiate had another average game.

  • proptank
    9:28 PM 01/12/2013

    Gatland's always been a bit of a sore loser, looking to blame the ref - could be a good trait in a coach but best to keep his comments to himself. I've always thought Eddie Butler to be incredibly biased when commentating on Wales and he was completely wrong with the Cooper yellow - definitely a penalty, not a yellow and no chance of a penalty try. As for the Tomane try i thought the hands went flat/backwards on the pass and therefore not a forward pass.

    As for Barnes making the call himself, he often does this, gets the incident up on big screen and makes his own decision. Strong refereeing - used to dislike him but now a fan, up there with Nigel Owens and Poite for best refs imo.

  • juggernauter
    9:05 PM 01/12/2013

    Forgot to say... the Cooper yellow card was a joke, not even a penalty. Of course if you are chasing a guy and the ball is passed to him you tackle him as fast as you can. Ball was already in Williams's fingertips when Quade grabbed him. Weird call IMO.

  • juggernauter
    8:28 PM 01/12/2013

    Pretty pathetic comments from Gatland IMO. He wasn't there to chase the referee after Phillips played that quick lineout with a "new" ball and scored a try back in that 6N game against Ireland, was he? He should look no further than McKenzie to see how pro rugby coaches should deal with controversial referee calls -remember the feet in touch by Brown or the block by Hartley on the Eng-Aus game (which led to a lost excellent attacking oportunity for Aus, and a try for Eng, respectively), and how McKenzie said that he would'nt blame the ref for their loss, even though both calls were clearly wrong. The referee makes the calls and that's it, there's no point complaining, you note it and then move on. The respect for the refs job is paramount in rugby and we can't afford to lose that.

    On a side note, what a hoodoo the welsh have with SH opposition. They can be kings of Europe but just seem to be missing the ability to make that final blow. Hope they get it before 2015!

    Cheers.

Related Articles