Former All Blacks hooker James Parsons has weighed into the debate around refereeing following the Bledisloe Cup clash at the weekend.<\/p>\n
While the Wallabies were frustrated by some of the calls, New Zealand were also heavily penalised, particularly when they had the ball.<\/p>\n
Individuals were regularly pulled up for sealing off at the breakdown or going in through the side, stopping the momentum Scott Robertson\u2019s team had generated.<\/p>\n
Italian Andrea Piardi was incredibly strict at the contact area, which differed from the previous officials they have had this year.<\/p>\n
Certain referees will be a bit more lenient when it comes to going off their feet, but the All Blacks<\/a> infringed that law on a few occasions in Auckland.<\/p>\n Dealing with the opposition breakdown threats<\/p>\n \u201cThis is one of the rules I really struggle with,\u201d Parsons said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer that you\u2019ve got to react to the ref and make adjustments based on that.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve got some threats, if you think back to your David Pocock\u2019s, Michael Hooper\u2019s and you see them in and around [the breakdown], you rush in because you\u2019ve got to get rid of them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they pull out, you\u2019re just so committed, there is no stopping. It is a penalty, I get it, but I just think they played the Mickey Mouse really well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were looking to have a physical presence. Sometimes when you go in with that mindset \u2013 you want to hurt bodies, you really want to set a tone \u2013 but once you overcommit and lose the ability to stop, you open yourself up to a penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n Eddie Jones\u2019 brutal take on one referee who \u2018second-guesses\u2019 every decision<\/a><\/p>\n Parsons did not think Piardi was necessarily incorrect with how he applied the law, but that the All Blacks were simply caught out on this occasion, given the way different referees interpret the breakdown.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just reffed inconsistently. I\u2019m not saying it was over the 80 minutes, I\u2019m just saying week-to-week \u2013 it\u2019s a frustrating one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you put guys in a bib during the training week and they would have an orange bib saying they\u2019re David Pocock or Michael Hooper.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes because you\u2019ve trained it, it\u2019s ingrained in your mind that when you see them, you rush. Sometimes they\u2019re not late but because you rush as they\u2019re such a threat, you\u2019re too early and you\u2019re hitting nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the ref\u2019s side, you\u2019ve taken the opportunity away to have a fair contest and that\u2019s when the penalties happen. It\u2019s a balance as sometimes you can be too early but too aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallabies legend\u2019s \u2018very clear\u2019 verdict on ref \u2018inconsistencies\u2019 as he issues a plea to World Rugby<\/a><\/p>\n Joe Schmidt\u2019s influence<\/p>\n