Australia manager Michael Cheika isn't happy about the performance of referee Jérôme Garcès after Ireland beat Australia at the Aviva Stadium.
The irony of it all. After a week in which the Irish were criticised for being "whingers" following their defeat against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium, Australia coach Michael Cheika is voicing his own complaints about the standards of the referee's performance in tonight's encounter between his side and Ireland in Dublin which the home side won by 27 points to 24.
Australia suffered 13 penalties to Ireland's 4 in the course of the game and Cheika clearly felt aggrieved talking to the press after the game (which included David Kelly of the Indo). He said Australia would be talking to Alain Rolland, the World Rugby's 'High Performance 15s Match Officials' Manager' - in other words, the World Rugby referees' chief - about what he seems to see as unfair treatment suffered by the Aussies at the hands of referee Jérôme Garcès:
I thought we played a lot of footie and we were penalised a lot. 13-4, it costs you territory and points. You can’t win a test match with that. We will go through the proper channels and see if we get something. But I doubt it.
We can’t talk about interpretations in public, we’re not allowed to and I don’t want to get into strife. We will talk about it with Alain Rolland.
He said David Pocock was the victim of one challenge "behind the maul" for which the Aussies "would have been penalised a few weeks ago" and that he didn't have "a problem with the referee, just decisions." Cheika also outlined a fear that England "should have no problem" physically against Australia on Sunday 4th December if Australia are penalised in the same manner as they were against Ireland tonight.
