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Ref not calling late hits questioned by John Plumtree, but ‘All Blacks don’t cry’, coach says

October 14, 2020

The assistant coach said he’s fine with missed calls – it’s consistently unruled moments that irk him.

All Blacks assistant coach John Plumtree can handle a missed call by a referee in Test rugby - but "a consistent habit" of missed calls is where he says he draws the line.

The Wallabies' defence was relentless in attacking the All Blacks during Sunday's 16-16 draw in Wellington - almost to a fault, with the Australians copping 14 penalties from New Zealand referee Paul Williams throughout the match, many of which were at the breakdown.

"They see what they see," Plumtree said.

"If Paul missed stuff, then he's missed it. But if it's a consistent habit that he's seeing and it's not being looked after then obviously we'd be disappointed."

To that end, there was one area Plumtree is questioning after reviewing the match - late hits.

"There were some late charges - you guys saw that - and there [were] one or two other incidents," Plumtree said.

Despite that, though, Plumtree added the team haven't spoken to the referees about Sunday's officiating.

"All Blacks don't cry - we just get on with it," he said.

"We adjust to how the game is being refereed and that's in every department - breakdown, set piece - you just have to adjust."

Asked if he thought non-neutral referees could be used in a post-Covid future like Williams did on Sunday, Plumtree remained reserved.

"I think it puts a lot of pressure on the referee, more than anything, not so much on us.

"We know why it puts pressure on the referee, because it's based on the referee being biased or whatever.

"We had trust in Paul to do a good job and he went out and did his best."

Australian referee Angus Gardner is officiating this Sunday's match at Eden Park to balance out the situation.

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