Michael Hooper has called on World Rugby to come out and explain big decisions after matches following some controversial calls at Eden Park.<\/p>\n
Press conferences with officials immediately after the games have sometimes been suggested down the years but, in taking a different view, the Wallabies legend would rather see their bosses front up.<\/p>\n
Hooper has also suggested it happen at the start of a new week, instead of straight after a game when emotions are higher and people are perhaps less objective.<\/p>\n
Sitting alongside All Blacks<\/a> great Sonny Bill Williams on the Between Two Posts podcast, the former Australia<\/a> captain was asked whether he would like to see referees explain their calls.<\/p>\n Taking accountability<\/p>\n \u201cNot the referee,\u201d was Hooper\u2019s response. \u201cI would actually like to see the referees bosses come out on the Monday and explain the rulings \u2013 I think that would be a great piece of content.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be really good for World Rugby to come out and say: \u2018These are the rulings, this is the way we want to see rugby officiated, this is why the ref did it\u2019, and whether they got it right or wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cAs players they get things right and wrong, referees are allowed to get it right and wrong, but if we saw accountability from World Rugby going, \u2018this is what\u2019s happened, this is the process of how it happened and this is our process to improve it\u2019, just like you would with players, coaches and teams around the world, I think that would be a great thing for the viewer to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Australians have certainly had a whinge about officiating over the past couple of months.<\/p>\n During the British and Irish Lions series, they were unhappy that Hugo Keenan\u2019s series-winning try was awarded following a contentious Jac Morgan cleanout.<\/p>\n They then had complaints about Christophe Ridley in the Argentina loss, despite being the beneficiary of a clear forward pass which earned them two bonus-points.<\/p>\n Most recently, Andrea Piardi, who took charge of that second Lions Test, was once again in the firing line after the Wallabies\u2019 33-24 defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, we just see the referee turn up and if he makes a bad call then we slam him,\u201d Hooper said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do officiate the game, they do need to be held accountable, but how can we at the moment? We don\u2019t live in their shoes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a great stance for World Rugby to go, \u2018this is what our guys are dealing with, this is why they\u2019re making the decision and this is potentially how we\u2019re making it better\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n