Quit whingeing
RUGBY LIONS ON TOUR Ex-prop tells Lions refs Down Under are different
FORMER Wales prop Adam Jones has urged the British and Irish Lions not to whinge about the officiating of their misfiring scrum.
The tourists endured a second defeat in four matches when a 22-13 third-quarter lead over the Highlanders ended in a 23-22 loss after Marty Banks landed a matchwinning penalty conceded at the setpiece by Dan Cole.
Coach Warren Gatland admitted the Lions’ creaking scrum had cost them the game, questioning the decision-making of Aussie referee Angus Gardner and calling for consistency. But Jones, who made five appearances for the Lions, said: “It’s all about interpretation. Everything is different when you’re being refereed by a southern rather than a northern hemisphere ref so we can’t whinge about it too much – we have just got to crack on.
“Much has been made of what TV match official Marius Jonker said to ref Gardner when Cole came on against the Highlanders.
“But what people don’t see is the officials do a lot of homework on you. Refs will look at each prop to see how he’s been going in the last couple of games, how he’s been scrummaging and what not.
“Gardner will have done that too so he’d have a pretty good idea about how the Lions have been scrummaging.”
From the start the Highlanders were telling Gardner they had dominance at the scrum and when Cole came on to the field, Jonker informed Gardner via the radio link to watch the replacement tighthead’s binding.
When asked how to combat the New Zealanders’ bid to shift scrum perception in their favour Gatland said the Lions should just keep calm and carry on.
He said: “I look to those two penalties against Dan Cole and I think the first one’s a penalty to us, the loosehead has gone down.
“The officials have seen a different picture. There’s no doubt they’ve got some ascendancy in the second scrum penalty and I accept that but I thought at the first one we’d forced an error.
“But look, you’ve just got to take those on the chin.”