French referee Mathieu Raynal has opened up about his time-wasting decision at the end of the first All Blacks-Australia Bledisloe Cup Test in Melbourne two weeks ago.
Raynal told dailymail.co.uk that he gave repeated warnings to Australia’s first five-eighths Bernard Foley to complete a penalty kick before making his time-wasting decision. Raynal then awarded the All Blacks a scrum from which Jordie Barrett scored a try that allowed the All Blacks a 39-37 win.
Raynal said: “I didn’t make the decision. The player forced me to make that decision. When I gave three warnings, when I stopped the time, gave an official warning, asked him five times to play the ball, and when he didn’t play it, he forced me to make this decision.
“When I engage in that process with a player, he has to listen to me. I think I was very clear in what I expected from him. I have no option after that.
“I had to take a big decision at the end of a big game like that. That didn’t make me happy, but when you engage in the process you have to go until the end I think.”
Nic White, the Australian halfback who was captaining the side after earlier substitutions, spoke with Raynal after the second Bledisloe Test in Auckland at the weekend.
“Nic White came after the last game on Saturday night with two beers in the changing room. He came to talk to me, and I appreciate what he told me in his name, and in the name of the Australia team.
“I will not say publicly what our discussion was but I appreciate what he did that night in Auckland.
“When I make a decision like that, I know what the referee’s role is, and I know what’s going to happen after that so, just to protect myself and to be comfortable for the second [Bledisloe] game, I deleted my social-media and newspaper apps.
“I tried to protect my family and my son from the noise and everything around that. I made sure that they were comfortable and that they weren’t affected,” he said.
Asked if a crackdown was needed on time-wasting, Raynal said: “That’s not my role. But what do we want in our sport? What kind of picture do we want to deliver to the young viewers?
“Do you want to see your child wasting time on the ball? Do you want to see your child diving and play-acting? That’s the real question. But my job is to referee.”
