The days of the All Blacks getting perceived favourable treatment from the match officials are over, with the referee fraternity turning against New Zealand.
Over the years, opposition fans were of the belief that the black jersey came with some form of invisibility cloak for referees, particularly when it came to legendary captain Richie McCaw, but that’s certainly no longer the case.
At least, that’s the verdict from renowned Kiwi journalist Gregor Paul, who states it’s not a conspiracy theory anymore that the All Blacks are being harshly treated by the official, just plain fact.
Wild claim
Somewhat vexed by the handling of the first Test match between the All Blacks and France, where three referrals occurred, Paul ripped into the officials and accused the referee bigwigs of over-scrutinising New Zealand.
“It’s also hard – given the now extensive number of occasions in which the All Blacks have been the victims of contentious decisions by match officials that have come after prolonged and heavy-duty investigative work – not to wonder whether they are on some kind of World Rugby watchlist,” he remarked in his New Zealand Herald coloumn.
The scribe listed off a plethora of considered All Blacks’ misgivings, including Bongi Mbonambi’s controversial try at Ellis Park last year as well as Sam Cane’s red card in comparison to Siya Kolisi’s yellow during the Rugby World Cup final two years ago.
“It has reached the point now where you don’t need to be a tinfoil-hat wearer living off-grid to wonder if the All Blacks are the victims of some kind of hardline policy within the refereeing fraternity to ensure that every try they score is to be forensically reviewed,” he continued.
“So, too, is it entirely reasonable to ask whether match officials have been told or at least encouraged to take more time or even a different approach to determining the outcomes of potential acts of foul play committed by the All Blacks.”
He claimed that the officials are ignoring protocol in order to search for All Black indiscretions beyond their reach.
He added: “If this is all a giant, baseless conspiracy theory, then how can it be that Mbonambi got away with bouncing the ball over the tryline and none of the officials felt there was any need to check.”
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Pattern of All Blacks being treated differently
Paul further highlighted Andrew Porter’s yellow card for his tackle on Brodie Retallick in 2022, a decision that came a week after Angus Ta’avao was sent off against Ireland for his shot on Garry Ringrose.
“Something does indeed seem rotten in Denmark,” he wrote.
“This pattern of the All Blacks being treated one way and every other leading nation a different way has been going on for too long now to ignore and Saturday’s game in Dunedin has only added to the sense of inequity.
“This intense scrutiny of the All Blacks is rugby’s equivalent of racial profiling. It assumes the All Blacks are guilty of some sort of infringement based on a historical belief they were the undeserving beneficiaries of too many favourable refereeing calls back in the pre-technological age.”
In conclusion, he wrote: “But it doesn’t feel like every nation is being subjected to the same level of refereeing intrusion and that destroys the credibility of this drive for more accurate decision-making.”