Foley blames stadium noise: ‘I wasn’t trying to slow it down’
MELBOURNE: Wallabies playmaker Bernard Foley has denied deliberately wasting time in his side’s loss to the All Blacks and hit out at Ian Foster for his ‘‘disappointing’’ comments.
Foley was adjudged to have taken too long over a penalty while the Wallabies were clinging to a slender lead in the dying moments of Thursday night’s Bledisloe Cup test, with referee Mathieu Raynal awarding the All Blacks a scrum.
When Jordie Barrett crossed for the matchwinning try moments later, Raynal’s decision was guaranteed to attract the majority of postgame attention.
While Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said it was ‘‘incredibly disappointing’’ for the game to be decided in that manner, Foster took a different view and laid some of the blame at Foley’s feet.
‘‘I thought it was very clearcut,’’ Foster told media after the match.
‘‘He warned him. Part of your game management is to listen to the referee.’’
Foley yesterday said the volume of the Marvel Stadium crowd made it difficult to do just that and expressed his dismay over Foster’s reaction.
‘‘I did see [his] comment,’’ Foley told Australian media.
‘‘If you get away with one, you probably would have a no comment. But for him to speak about it in that regard was a bit disappointing.
‘‘There was a lot of confusion throughout the game. I wasn’t trying to slow it down, but I was just trying to get really clear and
‘‘You can only stop the clock so many times. The game is under pressure from broadcasters to keep the clock ticking. It’s easy to point the finger at refs but they do try to speed the game up. Quite frankly we’re fully supportive of a game being played fast with less time wasting.’’
concise about what we were trying to do at that next lineout.
‘‘At the end, it was very loud in the stadium, but there was no sense there was going to be a call like that.’’
Some of Foley’s teammates seemed to have that sense, seen in television footage to be imploring the No 10 to kick the ball into touch. Midfielder
Lalakai Foketi — who had won the crucial turnover penalty — was one of those players and Foley suggested that might have played a part in the referee’s call.
‘‘I think Lalakai maybe got a reaction from the ref,’’ Foley said.
‘‘In my dealings with [Raynal], he asked [me] to hurry up but had turned the clock off. He never told me he turned it back on or there would be other repercussions.
‘‘It was pretty loud in the stadium there with 55,000 people. [I am still] trying to digest the whole situation.’’
Foley, recalled to the test team for the first time in three years, was also frustrated that Raynal’s call had detracted from what had been a thrilling contest, and he backed the Wallabies to make next weekend’s rematch at Eden Park just as memorable.
‘‘The problem is we’re talking about that,’’ Foley said.
‘‘Two sides both played a great game and we’re talking about a referee decision. That’s become a little too frequent in test match rugby these days.
‘‘There’s still a lot to play for. It’s a bit disappointing and bittersweet that we’re not playing for trophies and championships.
‘‘To go over there and win at Eden Park is a massive carrot for us as a team. It’s also a chance to build on what we laid down yesterday. The guys will recover, take a few days to get the bodies right and then we’ll rip into the preparation.’’
The Wallabies will sink to their worstever world ranking on the back of their loss to the All Blacks.
Thursday night’s lastminute 3937 defeat came with an added dash of pain for the Wallabies, with Australia set to drop to ninth on World Rugby’s rankings ladder.
The Wallabies were in eighth following their disappointing loss to South Africa in Sydney, which was already a historic low before the latest worrying mark.
The Australians were ranked world No 2 only six years ago.
Ireland holds down top spot ahead of France and world champion South Africa, with New Zealand in fourth.
The Wallabies also sit below England, Argentina, Scotland and Wales.
Despite the fall, Rennie’s position is safe until after at least next year’s World Cup in France after Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan this week guaranteed the New Zealander’s role.
Rennie has a record of 11 victories, three draws and 14 losses for a winning strike rate under 39%. —
Herald/AAP