The Wallabies are reportedly set to make an official complaint over the apparent meeting, which Hansen denied a day after his side’s 29-9 victory.
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“I agree with the independent person who said there’s nothing to answer for”, Hansen said.
“I know in the past in New Zealand it has created a bit of a stir and a lot of our guys probably weren’t involved in those moments so it’s just another name on the team sheet for them”. “It’s a hard game to ref so why wouldn’t you have the meeting?” We don’t meet the ref (beforehand) and haven’t done for about 18 to 24 months.
The latest World Rugby regulations allow for pre-Test meetings with the referee, but the opposition coach must also be notified and allowed to attend.
All Blacks captain Kieran Read said they would be prepared to adjust to whatever conditions came about when it came to trying to score points.
Injured All Black Sonny Bill Williams wasted no time firing a twitter barb at Wallabies coach Michael Cheika after the Wallabies fell to their 5th straight loss of 2016.
Ex-Test player Clyde Rathbone said the Wallabies were delusional about their ability, adding they were “almost certainly not going to win” the return clash.
Cheika went on to criticise Poite for other elements of his officiating, including an unwillingness to listen to Wallabies captain Stephen Moore during breaks in play.
“I’m not anxious about any of that stuff, everyone is doing their best for now”, Cheika said.
Injuries and backline reshuffles ensured there was less fluency in the second half, while there were uncharacteristic fumbles underneath the high ball – a tactic they expected to encounter again on Saturday.
They’ll regroup after a week off before tackling South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday week. There will be question marks over his defence in that position, especially with a renowned poor defender in Quade Cooper covering him on the inside. But flyhalf Beauden Barrett remained the brilliant engineer of the All Blacks’ backline play, breaking the line for Dagg’s first try and making the long pass on the run which, quickly relayed by Ben Smith, made Julian Savea’s try early in the second half.
The Wallabies barely had a sniff in attack with the All Blacks dominating possession and territory all night.
He was not selected for Australia’s rugby sevens team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and had a brief stint at at French club Toulon where he failed to find his top form.
Australia had kicked three penalties, two from Bernard Foley and the third from debutant Reece Hodge, who had arrived for concussion victim Adam Ashley-Cooper.
There was considerable niggle in the first half which only settled down just before half-time when referee Roman Poite exhausted of issuing warnings and set Wallabies lock Adam Coleman to the sin-bin for a late charge on Ben Smith.
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They now both share five points in the Rugby Championship with the next round of games on September 10.
