Make game easier, plead All Blacks

RUGBY HAS BECOME WAY TOO COMPLICATED Spoils shared after referee Poite makes controversial call at the death of tense encounter between Kiwis and Lions.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen appealed yesterday for rugby’s rules to be simplified, saying a referee’s wrong call cost the All Blacks a chance to win the deciding Test against the British and Irish Lions.

But Hansen admitted the All Blacks had also failed to make the most of other opportunities to win the third Test in Auckland which ended in a 15-15 on Saturday to leave the series drawn 1-1.

Immediately after the Test, Hansen had refused to debate the controversial call by French referee Romain Poite in the dying seconds of the game when he awarded the All Blacks a closerange, kickable penalty and then changed his decision to a scrum.

After a night to reflect, Hansen said yesterday Poite had been wrong and it was up to the bosses at World Rugby to make it easier to control the game.

“There’s always going to be human error, it doesn’t matter who it is. But what we’ve got to do is help them, not bag them,” Hansen said.

“That’s a World Rugby thing. They lead this game, they run this game and with people within in that we’ve got to help the referees so it becomes easier and more simple for them to ref the game. It’s a really complicated game.”

In a climactic finish, with only seconds remaining and the score tied 15-15, the ball went forward from Lions fullback Liam Williams and was played by teammate Ken Owens who was in an offside position.

All Blacks centre Anton LienertBrown pounced on the ball and was heading for the tryline when Poite blew his whistle and awarded a penalty for offside.

But after viewing replays and conferring with the other three match officials he changed his mind to say it was an accidental infringement by Owens and the penalty was downgraded to a scrum.

“I think they just overthought it,” Hansen added. “If he’d trusted his instincts and gone with them he would have made the right decision. But he didn’t and then he got caught up in overthinking it and made mistake.” – AFP

Picture: AFP ANTI-CLIMAX. All Black captain Kieran Read (left) and his British and Irish Lions counterpart Sam Warburton hold up the trophy at Eden Park on Saturday after the series was drawn 1-1.