Blowing the whistle on the whistle blowers

If I were Cheika, I’d be fuming too.

OPINION: There can be no doubting that Nigel Owens’ whistle played a much sweeter tune for the All Blacks than the Wallabies on Saturday night.

Forget Michael Cheika’s postmatch breakdown for a minute.

The question is, did Cheika have reason to feel aggrieved following a 37-10 loss which was a lot closer than the scoreboard suggested?

Two of the All Blacks six tries should not have stood, and an argument could be made a third should have also been called back. Then there was the no-try call for Henry Speight, which common sense would suggest should have been a try.

If I were Cheika, I’d be fuming too. Let me break it down for you.

Julian Savea shouldn’t have had his double. Both his tries began in the All Blacks’ half of the field, and that is where the play should have been brought back to.

For Savea’s first try, Ben Smith was offside when he collected the ball. Wallabies wing Speight knocked on, and in trying to collect the loose ball, Liam Squire also knocked on.

Smith, who was ahead of Squire on the field, collected the ball, turned and sprinted down field. He then kicked a lovely left-foot grubber, and Savea latched on to it to score.

The play should have been pulled back for offside.

Savea’s second try started in similarly controversial circumstances, when Wyatt Crockett illegally turned the ball over during a ruck.

Crockett was first to the ruck, so had rights to go for the ball with his hands. What he wasn’t allowed to do was support his own weight by placing his hands on the ground, essentially creating a human, Crockett-shaped bridge over the ball.

When Australia attempted to remove Crockett from the ruck, he took the ball with him as he went. It’s a tactic which is often used at the breakdown, but it is illegal.

Australia should have been awarded a penalty in kickable range.

Then there was the try that wasn’t, as Speight crossed for the Wallabies but television match official Shaun Veldsman saw some foul play in the background.

Dane Haylett-Petty got in the way of Savea as Speight sprinted down the sideline for a try. Savea was never in a position to tackle Speight, but in saying that, there was no need for Haylett-Petty to adjust his line and get in Savea’s way.

A penalty was awarded against Australia for blocking the tackler. It shouldn’t have happened.

For me, it was two players jostling down the sideline. Referees are urged to use common sense (something Veldsman clearly lacks) and in that situation they should have realised Savea was no chance of making a tackle.

If those calls are correctly made, all of a sudden it’s a one-score game. That brings us to the third All Blacks try that could have been called back.

TJ Perenara’s charge down and score could have been pulled back because Owens got in the way of Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps.

At the back of the scrum, Phipps pulled the ball clear and had to delay as Owens got out of the way, before passing to Reece Hodge.

Technically, Owens was right to signal a try, but it’s another the Wallabies can feel aggrieved about. His positioning clearly contributed to another All Blacks try.

Nobody is saying the Wallabies would have won. We’ve come to expect an All Blacks surge in the final 20 minutes, and who’s to say they wouldn’t have over-run the Wallabies late on and won handsomely.

But Cheika has a right to whinge. Not about clowns or being invited back for a beer or respect for the green and gold.

He has a right to whinge about the rugby.