“We were left with the anger of the last match and know that we have a team to beat anyone”, said captain Agustin Creevy.
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Upon arrival back in Sydney, coach Michael Cheika tried to play down the controversy as a “footnote” for the Wallabies.
“On the scoreboard it looks like we’ve done it pretty easy, but I don’t think anyone would say it was easy out there”, Hansen said.
Hansen said on Sunday he never met with Poite but did catch up with assistant referee Jaco Peyper, who controlled last week’s first Test in Sydney, at the South African’s request to “review” several incidents from that match.
Wallabies captain Stephen Moore couldn’t win any courtesy from Romain Poite because he was deemed to be the man leading a team that had no respect for the game’s standing or reputation and also because he wanted to voice his opinion at nearly every decision.
The Wallabies have made an official complaint to World Rugby about an alleged meeting that took place between All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and French referee Romain Poite in the lead up to last night’s Bledisloe Cup Test.
“It means a lot to us, but one day it’s inevitable someone’s going to lose it for sure, I’m just hoping it’s not on my watch”.
“I was bitterly disappointed”, Cheika said when asked about the referee’s performance after his side conceded 15 penalties to the All Blacks’ 12.
“No matter what sport Australia’s playing at, I’ll be supporting them”.
Cheika said Poite was one of the high-profile whistleblowers on the circuit that don’t give the Wallabies or captain Stephen Moore the respect they deserve.
“I think they will pick two (fly-halves) and try and control the territory game”. “So I’m not getting drawn into anything personal”. No one is saying anything bad to him. Even when they won their own lineouts, pressure from the All Blacks ensured it was not clean ball for the inside backs to utilise. We’ll take it, because we haven’t performed, but when it gets tough, that’s the time when you show your colours.
The malaise that blighted Australia’s top rugby players throughout Super Rugby has now well and truly ensconced itself in the national team following their sixth successive defeat in their Rugby Championship loss to the All Blacks on Saturday. The All Blacks have held the Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman supremacy, since 2003.
The Wallabies, however, managed to slow the pace of the All Blacks’ game with negative tactics.
The visitors failed to muster a try, with their points coming through penalties dispatched by Bernard Foley (2) and Reece Hodge.
The negative mindset, however, did result in main protagonist Adam Coleman receiving a yellow card for a risky charge on All Blacks fullback Ben Smith late in the first half.
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“They’ve copped a fair bit of criticism back home and they’re proud people so they were going to come and bring whatever they had to bring and they did that and it was just a good old, hard game of footy”.
