Wallabies coach Dave Rennie rebukes All Blacks’ John Plumtree over referee influence
He has proven that he won’t be bullied by the All Blacks, and Wallabies coach Dave Rennie has now hit out at the New Zealanders for comments seemingly intended to sway the refs.
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An irritated Dave Rennie has taken aim at the All Blacks’ attempts to influence refereeing in Sunday’s second Bledisloe Cup Test, saying complaints should be made in private through official channels.
Kiwi assistant coach John Plumtree whinged of supposed late shots by the Wallabies against his players in last weekend’s 16-all draw, with suggestions All Blacks playmaker Richie Mo’unga suffered a shoulder injury due to illegal play.
“In my opinion, we don’t need to air that sort of stuff through the media,” Rennie said.
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“And why would we do that? Are we trying to influence the referee for the next game and that sort of thing or?
“You’ve got an opportunity to go straight to the referee, so I’m not sure if he’s appealing to the masses. I’m a little bit surprised by those comments.”
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New Zealand referee Paul Williams came under scrutiny over several contentious decisions in Wellington, and Australia’s Angus Gardner will hold the whistle at Eden Park.
Plumtree said earlier this week of the supposed late shots: “We knew that was coming. That kind of play on the field has to be dealt to by the referees.
“There were several occasions where there were some off-ball incidents, but it’s got to be dealt with properly on the field.
“There’s always going to be big talking moments in Test matches, and probably one of the bigger talking moments were some of the late hits, off-the-ball incidents and that. We’ve seen it all before in these Bledisloe Cup games, haven’t we?
“There were some late charges — you guys saw all that — and there were one or two other incidents, but All Blacks don’t cry, we just get on with it; we adjust to how the game is being refereed and that’s in every department.”
The public rebuke from Rennie – who has shown a number of times he won’t be bullied by Kiwi rivals – sets up an acrimonious showdown at Eden Park as the Wallabies seek to win their first match against the All Blacks at the venue since 1986.
Rennie ruthlessly cut hooker Folau Fainga’a, backrowers Pete Samu and Rob Valentini, and playmaker Noah Lolesio from his squad despite last weekend’s shock result.
Ned Hanigan and Brandon Paenga-Amosa start, while Liam Wright and Jordan Petaia will come off the bench.
Hanigan was the biggest selection shock, but Rennie clearly wants to bolster his lineout after three lost throws in the first half last week that has cost Fainga’a his place in the team.
“What we say to the boys is, ‘You’ve got to nail it’. We’re judging every performance, not just from a team perspective but individually,” Rennie said.
“[Hanigan has] trained superbly, he’s had a real edge about him at training, we’ve done a lot of full contact work and he’s been a standout.
“He’s a really good leader, a very good lineout forward, we think those elements will be pretty important this week.”
Rennie added that Paenga-Amosa’s scrum work was strong.
Rennie said Samu has “been given a clear message” around the areas he needs to improve in, but refused to divulge them publicly.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster predicted a rugged physical battle.
“Test rugby starts up front and some say it finishes up front,” Foster said.
“It was probably the most dominant scrum performance we‘ve had for a while. The lineout drive was good against the Australians but probably our game management – to know when and how to use them – was occasionally poor.
“We got a bit passive at times.”
BLEDISLOE CUP, GAME 2 TEAMS
ALL BLACKS: 15. Beauden Barrett 14. Jordie Barrett 13. Anton Lienert-Brown 12. Jack Goodhue 11. Caleb Clarke 10. Richie Mo’unga 9. Aaron Smith 8. Ardie Savea 7. Sam Cane (captain) 6. Shannon Frizell 5. Tupou Vaa’i 4. Patrick Tuipulotu 3. Ofa Tuungafasi 2. Dane Coles 1. Joe Moody.
Reserves: 16. Codie Taylor 17. Alex Hodgman 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Scott Barrett 20. Hoskins Sotutu 21. TJ Perenara 22. Rieko Ioane 23. Damian McKenzie.
WALLABIES: 15. Tom Banks 14. Filipo Daugunu 13. Hunter Paisami 12. Matt To’omua 11. Marika Koroibete 10. James O’Connor 9. Nic White 8. Harry Wilson 7. Michael Hooper (captain) 6. Ned Hanigan 5. Matt Philip 4. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 3. Taniela Tupou 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa 1. James Slipper.
Reserves: 16. Jordan Uelese 17. Scott Sio 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Rob Simmons 20. Liam Wright 21. Jake Gordon 22. Jordan Petaia 23. Reece Hodge.