15 v 16 isn’t fair, says French prop

France prop Uini Atonio has taken the biggest swipe yet at the refereeing on their tour to New Zealand, saying it’s always 15 against 16 whenever any team starts against the All Blacks.

The French are clearly frustrated at how they’ve been on the wrong end of three controversial decisions in the tests in Auckland and Wellington and with just this weekend’s clash in Dunedin to go, they’ve reached boiling point.

Atonio says to beat the All Blacks, you’ve not only got to beat all their players, but also the man holding a whistle.

The key moments of this series are the wrongly given yellow card to Paul Gabrillagues for a tackle on Ryan Crotty, the non-punishment of Sam Cane and Ofa Tu’ungafasi for hits to Remy Grosso in Auckland, then the red card shown to Benjamin Fall in Wellington, subsequently overturned. Atonio said it was ‘‘at worst a yellow card’’.

‘‘The week before Ofa Tu’ungafasi put a shoulder to a head and that should have been a red card.

‘‘We didn’t say anything, we let it go, we’re not getting refereed the same way.

‘‘I don’t want to be a cry baby or anything, but it’s just not fair

‘‘It’s always going to be like that because the All Blacks are the best and if you want to beat them, then you have to beat them 15 against 16. That’s the only way we can beat them.’’

The French came on this three-test tour with the hope of showing they could be competitive against the All Blacks, but what’s frustrated them is that the yellow and red cards have meant they’ve never got a chance to prove themselves.

‘‘In rugby you win some, you lose some,’’ Atonio said.

‘‘We don’t mind losing. If we’re losing to a better team then that’s all right, and of course the All Blacks are the best in the world and everyone wants to come here and win against them.

‘‘But if we’re not even getting a little bit of the bounce of the ball, then it’s really tough.’’