Aussie linesman Angus Gardner has apologised for his blunder during the Bledisloe Cup draw in Wellington, where he missed a possible game-changing call.
During rugby's first post-COVID test match, Gardner failed to notice All Blacks wing Rieko Ioane put his foot on the touch-line in the lead-up to Jordie Barrett's opening try at Sky Stadium.
He was perfectly positioned to spot the infringement, but the call wasn't picked up until later in the match.
"It was just a genuine mistake," Gardner has told NZME. "Sometimes it happens at that speed.
"Obviously, I put my hand up for it. We're there to referee the game, whether it's the All Blacks or the Wallabies or Wellington or Otago or Chiefs versus Crusaders.
"Our job's just the game, it shouldn't matter who the two teams are."
Despite the error, Gardner will take control of Sunday's second test at Coppers Catch Park (aka Eden Park) on Sunday, with Kiwis Paul Williams and Ben O'Keeffe running the sidelines.
Match officials, but particularly referee Williams, have come under fire from All Blacks assistant coach John Plumtree, who feels the Wallabies used dirty tactics.
"They see what they see and if Paul missed stuff, then he's missed it," says Plumtree. "But if it's a consistent habit that he's seeing and it's not being looked after, then obviously, we'd be disappointed.
"We haven't had those conversations with the referee. If their intent is greater than ours around off-ball incidents, then we've just got to make sure we have a crack back at them."
But Plumtree understands the pressure local referees face, with no neutral whistleblowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The local referees referee us a lot," says Plumtree. "They know us and we know why it puts pressure on the referee - because it's based around being biased or whatever.
"There were some late charges, you guys saw all that, and there were one or two other incidents, but All Blacks don't cry - we just get on with it."
Join us at 4pm Sunday for live updates of the second All Blacks v Wallabies Bledisloe Cup test
