Fuming Foley fires up at ‘disappointing’ Foster claim
Wallabies playmaker Bernard Foley has denied deliberately wasting time in his side’s loss to the All Blacks and hit out at Ian Foster for his “disappointing” comments.
Foley was adjudged to have taken too long over a penalty while the Wallabies were clinging to a slender lead in the dying moments of the first Bledisloe Cup test, with referee Mathieu Raynal awarding the All Blacks a free kick.
Jordie Barrett crossed for the match-winning try moments later.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said the way the game was decided was “incredibly disappointing” but Foster had little sympathy for Foley.
“I thought it was very clear cut,” Foster said soon after fulltime. “He warned him. Part of your game management is to listen to the referee.”
Foley yesterday said the volume of the Marvel Stadium crowd made it difficult to do that and expressed dismay over Foster’s reaction.
“I did see [his] comment,” Foley told Australian media. “If you get away with one, you probably would have a ‘no comment’.
“But for him to speak about it in that regard was a bit disappointing.
“There was a lot of confusion throughout the game. I wasn’t trying to slow it down but I was just trying to get really clear and concise about what we were trying to do at that next lineout.
“At the end, it was very loud in the stadium, but there was no sense there was going to be a call like that.”
Some of Foley’s teammates seemed to have that sense, seen in television footage imploring the No 10 to kick the ball into touch.
“It was pretty loud in the stadium there with 55,000 people. [I am still] trying to digest the whole situation.”
Foley, recalled to the test team for the first time in three years, was also frustrated Raynal’s call had detracted from what had been a thrilling contest, and he backed the Wallabies to make next weekend’s rematch at Eden Park just as memorable.
“The problem is we’re talking about that,” Foley said. “Two sides both played a great game and we’re talking about a referee decision. That’s become a little too frequent in test match rugby these days.”