Springboks legend Victor Matfield has rued perceived \u2018inconsistencies\u2019 from referee Karl Dickson during the All Blacks\u2019 victory at Eden Park.<\/p>\n
New Zealand claimed a narrow 24-17 win over Rassie Erasmus\u2019 side in Round Three of the Rugby Championship after battling back into the game after being 14-3 down at half-time.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the result, many South African fans have pointed the blame at English official Dickson for his performance in Auckland and Matfield<\/a> has followed suit in airing his grievances.<\/p>\n The former lock believes that both teams weren\u2019t treated equally when it came to infringements inside the opposition\u2019s 22, with Springboks<\/a> flanker Kwagga Smith yellow carded in the second half for a penalty near his own try-line.<\/p>\n Best referees needed for the biggest games<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the All Blacks<\/a> weren\u2019t punished in the same manner when they conceded a penalty at a scrum inside their red zone, with the backline then going offside.<\/p>\n The 2007 Rugby World Cup winner also felt that South Africa did not get rewarded as much as they should have for their scrum dominance throughout the match.<\/p>\n \u201cI said on Saturday after the game, the biggest games need the best referee, and unfortunately, we didn\u2019t get it,\u201d he said on The Rivals podcast<\/a> with All Blacks great Sir John Kirwan.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought New Zealand got away with two or three scrums in the first half, where they just dived over after overextending, where we didn\u2019t get the penalty, and the first time that Thomas du Toit\u2019s knee touches the ground, it\u2019s a penalty for New Zealand.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there were about three penalties that we didn\u2019t get, and then another thing for me, especially on the box kicks, New Zealand were really good when countering rucking South African ball, but on their ball, they were all on their knees and elbows \u2013 they were on the ground, so that should be penalties immediately. You can\u2019t counter-ruck that; it\u2019s\u00a0very long, I think that\u2019s something that Rassie will definitely show whoever is refereeing this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n After naming his team for the second match between the two sides, this time in Wellington, Erasmus was asked for his thoughts on the officiating at Eden Park. The head coach gave an answer that he hoped was \u2018politically correct\u2019<\/a>, explaining that the Boks were happy with World Rugby\u2019s process to raise concerns and would leave that work to the likes of assistant Felix Jones and ex-referee Jaco Peyper.<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus fields \u2018very loaded question\u2019 about latest Springboks selection and admits he \u2018didn\u2019t coach well\u2019 last weekend<\/a> However, ex-winger Kirwan disagreed with Matfield\u2019s statement that Dickson was not good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cI totally disagree with you, Victor. I thought the referee was really good for a couple of reasons,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n \u201cThe South Africans invented sealing off. So both teams are now sealing off, everyone is sealing off, and they don\u2019t control it.\u201d<\/p>\n Matfield, interrupted, \u201cNo, but you need to be on your feet. You can\u2019t be on your knees if you seal off or if you make it long.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirwan continued: \u201cEveryone is sealing off, mate. They don\u2019t control it. So I saw as many times South Africans sealing off as we did.<\/p>\n \u201cSo what happens for me is if you get away with it, you keep getting away with it. It\u2019s the consistency that we want. I thought the referee was consistent. I do think he referees the attack more than he does the defence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nKirwan disagrees<\/p>\n