Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh says he would be happy for a New Zealander to referee a Bledisloe Cup game at Eden Park to ensure the best standard of officiating following a winter of Wallabies matches marred by refereeing controversies.
The Wallabies and All Blacks meet in a second clash tomorrow, but the Bledisloe Cup has already been retained by the Kiwis, after an All Blacks victory last weekend in Auckland that included some contentious calls from Italian referee Andrea Piardi.
Piardi was also at the centre of controversy at the end of the second test of the British and Irish Lions series in July, where a last-minute clean out on Carlo Tizzano’s neck was ruled legal, allowing a series-winning Lions try to stand.
The refereeing of England’s Christophe Ridley in the Wallabies and Pumas clash in Sydney also attracted criticism for inconsistency, particularly from the winning coach, Argentina’s Felipe Contepomi.
In an interview on Stan Sport’s Inside Line, Waugh said he had sympathy for match officials but said World Rugby appointing the best referees for big games is important.
Many of the best and most experienced referees in the world are currently from Australia and New Zealand, including Angus Gardner, Nic Berry, Ben O’Keeffe and Paul Williams but they are not considered for Bledisloe Cup games because of World Rugby’s neutrality policy. In 2020, however, when COVID forced drastic changes, Gardner, Berry, O’Keeffe and Williams all refereed trans-Tasman test matches, and did so without a single moment of controversy.
The All Blacks take on the Wallabies in Perth at 9.45pm tomorrow.
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