ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has called for Australian rugby and Super Rugby's governing body to invest more money in referees after a no-try decision shattered his team's championship hopes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Brumbies were still gutted on Saturday after being bundled out of the Super Rugby season by the Otago Highlanders at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
The Brumbies thought they'd stolen the result when they trailed 15-9 replacement winger Lausii Taliauli barged over the line before being jumped on by a pack of players with five minutes left.
But referee Angus Gardner has been thrust into the spotlight for his decision to deny Taliauli a potential match-winning try and refusing to penalise the Highlanders' scrum in the last minutes of the game.
The way referees use the television match official is set to be scrutinised over the off-season and Larkham wants more money to fund referee development.
SANZAAR – Super Rugby's governing body – declined to comment on referee performances.
"They will have to review it all and the refereeing has improved this year, there's no doubt about that. But there's still some way to go and they'll be the first to admit that," Larkham said.
"I was disappointed with the way the game panned out in the end. I honestly felt we were the better team.
"You have to understand all referees will make mistakes, it's part of the game. The errors were clear-cut.
"The solution is just to review it again and we've got to find a bit of money, because there's just not enough money or resources put towards the referees.
"We've got a few good referees in Super Rugby ... but, when you get decisions that change a game, then you want to see more money and resources invested to improving guys and the system.
"It's a pretty hard pill to swallow."
Larkham is still locked in contract negotiations with the Brumbies and the ARU about his future.
The Wallabies great's Brumbies contract expires at the end of the year and he has been in three-way discussions with the Super Rugby club and Australian rugby officials.
It is likely Larkham will only take on one position when he signs his next contract instead of juggling Brumbies head coach duties and a Wallabies assistant's gig.
"The process has been ongoing for a while now, I haven't made that decision," Larkham said.
The Brumbies will be forced to come to grips with their Super Rugby exit and their farewell to Stephen Moore, Matt Toomua, Michael Wells, Michael Dowsett, Joseph Tomane, Ita Vaea and David Pocock.
But the decision of Gardner to say there was no evidence to award Taliauli a try with five minutes to go will be salt in their wounds until next year.
When asked about the refereeing, Moore said it was probably not the time to talk about it.
"It's disappointing, I thought we defended pretty well in the first half and we'd get chances in the second half. We just couldn't get it over the line. That's the way it goes."
The Brumbies dominated the scrum for most of the match and Gardner penalised the Highlanders' forward pack often.
But as the Brumbies put the heat on the Highlanders' set-piece at four different scrums just five metres out, Gardner put his whistle away to avoid a potential penalty try situation.
The Highlanders were penalised 15 times during the game compared to the Brumbies' eight.
"There's no other way you can look at Lausii's try ... there has to be logic in the decision," Larkham said.
"The team of four [referees] is still not working efficiently. The aspect of the [television match official] decision that needs to be cleared up is the wording.
"You've got to wait for next year, the moment is incredibly bitter and it's not going to change until we get to Super Rugby next year."
