Gatland irked by refereeing calls

CHIEFS coach Warren Gatland has taken aim at the officials following his side’s dramatic Super Rugby loss to the Hurricanes.

The brutal and breathtaking Kiwi derby in Hamilton on Friday night ended 27-24 in the visitors’ favour, after Jordie Barrett kicked the winning penalty four minutes after the fulltime siren, following a massive 35-phase buildup.

But Gatland disputes his side should have been penalised, and also suggested Hurricanes co-captain TJ Perenara should have been sent off rather than yellow carded, for his high tackle on Solomon Alaimalo in the second half.

There was some confusion around who the clutch final penalty was actually against, as Chiefs No 8 Pita Gus Sowakula had also made a late shot on Hurricanes prop Alex Fidow and that was the one replayed on the

TV coverage, however it was actually Chiefs prop Reuben O’Neill who was the man pinged by referee Jaco Peyper, for a grass cutter tackle on Hurricanes flanker Vaea Fifita.

But Gatland felt it was a rough call that O’Neill had not used his arms, and instead thought Fifita was at fault for raising his legs into contact.

“I thought it was a bit harsh,” Gatland said.