Chiefs head coach Warren Gatland says he was furious at the referee after his side’s defeat by the Crusaders in Christchurch on Sunday.
The 18-13 loss was the Chiefs’ third straight defeat since the start of the competition and it didn’t sit well with Gatland.
In the aftermath of the result, Gatland wasted little time questioning referee James Doleman’s decision not to penalise Crusaders centre Jack Goodhue for not rolling away at a ruck moments before the Chiefs slowly cleared the ball and then lost possession into touch, which allowed Crusaders wing Sevu Reece to take a quick throw-in to set up his teammate Will Jordan for a second try.
While Reece was fetching the ball, the Chiefs players appeared to be talking to referee James Doleman about the missed call.
The work of Goodhue leading up to this was brilliant but yet again Sevu Reece and Will Jordan combine for a try pic.twitter.com/HYOIlqZjud
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) June 28, 2020
It was a sequence of play that left Gatland and his assistant coaches seething.
‘We were furious because we just felt the breakdown before the try, we felt Goodhue should have been penalised,’ Gatland said.
‘To me, it was a tough decision, and then for them to take a quick throw and us not to react to it … I just thought it was a certain penalty to us, I thought Goodhue made a tackle, and he’s ended up rolling into our side and slowed the ball down.’
Photo: PhotoSport
