Kiwis are world class at whining, but Poite was right

NEW Zealand are not just double world champions, they are world champion whiners when refereeing decisions go against them. The furore over referee Romain Poite’s decision to change his call to accidental offside when Ken Owens momentarily caught a knock-on by Liam Williams is a case in point.

It is tempting not to give a damn about the Kiwi carping, but attempts to denigrate the French referee should not be allowed to stand unchallenged. His main mistake, as Warren Gatland pointed out, was not to award a penalty against Kieran Read for making an airborne lunge to play the man in the air when he had very little chance of getting a hand – let alone hands – to the ball.

Instead, the All Black captain hit Williams on the shoulder and side of the head before the restart arrived, and just as the Lions full-back timed his jump perfectly to catch the ball. The only reason Williams knocked-on was because of the force with which Read collided with him, pitching him headlong to the ground.

Instead of the Lions getting a clearing penalty and a line-out in the New Zealand half, the All Blacks were given the scrum for the accidental offside. It was a lot more than they deserved.

Whatever the permutations the Poite call was nothing compared to the daylight robbery perpetrated by Australian referee Brian Kinsey in awarding the All Blacks a last-minute penalty in the first Test of the 1993 series. It came when Dean Richards not only tackled Frank Bunce but flipped him over to the Lions side of the ruck where the New Zealand centre failed to release the ball.

Grant Fox kicked the penalty for a 19-18 travesty – with the Lions on the receiving end (again).