Smith surprised by Sanzaar warning
Ben Smith isn’t sure what all the fuss is about.
As far as the Highlanders’ cocaptain is concerned, the controversy he sparked late in the first half of his team’s win against the Crusaders in Dunedin has been blown out of proportion.
‘‘Yeah, I was a wee bit surprised. I thought there wasn’t too much to it,’’ Smith said when discussing the incident which prompted Sanzaar referees boss Lyndon Bray to issue all 15 franchises with formal warnings around referee/player protocol.
Bray also told Stuff Smith’s behaviour last Saturday night, when he strode out to referee Nick Briant at the 22m line and demanded he refer the try he had already awarded to Jordan Taufua to TMO Glenn Newman, was unacceptable.
It’s been a hot topic all week, with Sanzaar chief executive Andy Marinos also chipping in by telling Newshub Smith had ‘‘no right to up and carry on in the way he did’’.
Injured Crusaders fullback Israel Dagg even lobbed in with some light-hearted banter on social media, by tagging Smith in a video of the incident and repeatedly calling his All Blacks teammate a ‘‘naughty boy’’.
Smith, who was praised by Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger post-match for the way he handled the incident, wants to make one thing clear.
‘‘I’ve got a lot of respect for referees and their decisions,’’ Smith told Stuff.
‘‘For me, it was just a matter of getting confirmation in the weekend that he [Briant] was going for the TMO, which he told me he was.
‘‘I just think it’s a big part of my job.
‘‘That we’re getting those communication lines so I can get our point of view across for our team, so that come the weekend, if there’s a 50/50 call that hasn’t been seen by the ref, that we can get our opinions out there so that they can take it on board.’’
Bray didn’t make direct contact with Smith, but it’s fair to say he and his Sanzaar colleagues will be keeping their eyes peeled during round six of the competition.
That includes Saturday night’s match between the Highlanders and Hurricanes in Wellington, where Smith will attempt to lead his men to a fourth consecutive win to start the season.
Before the match kicks off, as he does every week, he’ll have a chat to the officials. Mike Fraser is in charge of the blockbuster Kiwi derby, while Ben O’Keeffe and Richard Kelly are his assistants.
‘‘If it means that I can’t talk to him [Fraser] at certain times, I’ll just pick my times when I do talk to him,’’ Smith said.
‘‘I’ll make sure before the game that the communications lines are OK so that we can get on with both of our jobs.’’