Waratahs to foot the bill for broken door as Michael Cheika calls for 30-second limit to pack scrums

WARATAHS coach Michael Cheika called for a 30-second limit to pack scrums after a night of frustration ended with defeat and a glazier’s bill.

THE BRUMBIES will forward a $600 glazier’s bill to the Waratahs this week after NSW coach Michael Cheika shattered the glass door of his coach’s box in frustration on Saturday night at Canberra Stadium.

Brumbies general manager Simon Chester confirmed the damage bill would be sent to Moore Park and also disputed the Waratahs’ explanation that the glass splintered “accidentally” when the door was flung open.

“I wasn’t there but I was informed by a number of people who saw it that it wasn’t the result of the door being pushed open, it was a closed-fist punch that shattered it,” Chester told the Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

A Canberra Stadium official said the door would be replaced today and the hirer, the Brumbies, would be invoiced.

Though it is understood the Brumbies initially considered paying it, when asked if he’d send the bill to the Waratahs, Chester said: “Yes, we will.”

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News_Image_File: The glass door to the Waratahs coaches box which was reportedly smashed by Cheika.

Cheika told reporters post-match any damage was accidental and there was no punch, and the Waratahs said yesterday they would await contact from the stadium.

Though what happened to the door remained clouded, the source of Cheika’s fury was not: referee Jaco Peyper’s handling of the scrums, and the final two in particular.

With the Tahs having fought back from 25-9 to 25-23, two contentious scrum losses in the last ten minutes saw the Tahs come up short and, according to TV commentary, also prompted Cheika to castigate Peyper on the sideline post-match.

Though conceding the Brumbies deserved their five-point win on balance, Cheika expressed frustration at both time-wasting and Peyper’s inconsistency at scrum-time.

“I was very disappointed, first of all with the amount of time its taking to scrum. It’s just taking far too long,” Cheika said.

“My opinion about the rulings I won’t say here but just the amount of time it is taking the set the scrums.

“We went a referees meeting at the start of the year and asked if we could bring in a rule from the time the whistle blows, within 30 seconds the ball should be in. We left it with (referees boss) Lyndon Bray but nothing happened.

“You want the ball in, you want to play. We waste an unbelievable amount of time in scrummage. Then some of the decisions that came off the back of that definitely did frustrate me, for sure.”

News_Rich_Media: Re-live all the action from the Brumbies clash against the Waratahs.

Cheika said he was dumbfounded how the Brumbies, with a man in the bin could have stolen a key tighthead on their own line, and said the penalty awarded against them in final scrum should have been given to them, not the Brumbies.

The perceived problems around scrums - particularly the time-wasting - was, in truth, an extension of Waratah frustration that grew all night in the face of multi-faceted pressure from the dominant Brumbies.

Using rush defence to cut down time of the NSW backs, the Brumbies caught their rivals behind the line often, and then flooded the breakdown, further soaking up NSW numbers and hosing down the pace and front-foot ball required for the Waratah’s A-game.

Under relentless pressure, NSW rivets popped then popped all over the place; the line out and scrum were both scrappy, attacking structure looked rushed and confused and defences ultimately cracked as well. The advantage line was breached repeatedly in the Waratahs midfield, and behind the ruck.

News_Image_File: Ben Alexander on the charge for the Brumbies. Picture: Ray Strange

The Waratahs grew increasingly frustrated with often overt slow-down tactics in the Brumbies half, and eventually Peyper began levelling it out with yellow cards in the final quarter.

Cheika said he was pleased his team didn’t give up but the damage sustained by the rattled Tahs in the first 60 minutes had given the ACT enough of a buffer, just, and then the Brumbies scrum held up in those crucial final moments of the game.

News_Rich_Media: Waratahs coach Michael Cheika addresses the media after his side's 28-23 loss to the Brumbies.

Mowen singled out Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander and Scott Sio for credit.

“Often your 1, 2 and 3 get through their work week-in, week-out and don’t get their praises sung but they were outstanding for us, in general play and at scrum time,” Mowen said. “They were the difference between the two teams.”

News_Rich_Media: ACT Brumbies co-coach Laurie Fisher addresses the media after his side's 28-23 win over the Waratahs.