Jonathan Kaplan has praised Jérôme Garcès for his performance in Wellington last Saturday.

Writing on ratetheref.co.za, Kaplan said the match between the All Blacks and Springboks 'was superbly refereed' and 'chalk and cheese between what we saw last week' when Irishman George Clancy and Frenchman Pascal Gaüzère made some poor decisions in Perth and Napier respectively.

'Garcès seemed to be able to make his decisions with ease, without pressure, and for the most part they were well timed, and accurate,' said Kaplan. 'He added huge value to a compelling Test match which was deservedly won by New Zealand.

'Make no mistake, the Boks pushed them hard but in the end could not capitalise on five minutes in their opponents' 22m area at the end of the game. They could not penetrate a determined rearguard action and lacked composure when a sustained pressured drive may have yielded better outcomes.'

However, Kaplan said the Pumas were not treated well by New Zealand referee Glen Jackson during their match against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast.

'Their scrum was good and they were unlucky not to win some gains with decisions not always going in their favour. At least one whip wheel was picked up but not blown.

'The Argentina scrum may well be the best in the business on the face of what I have seen so far. But I’m afraid they have not always got the rub of the green and certainly were not well treated in the later game against Australia.'

The Pumas, who lost 32-25, had a 5m scrum after the full-time hooter, but their scrumhalf was harshly penalised for putting the ball in before Jackson said 'Yes'.

Kaplan's column on last weekend's Rugby Championship and Currie Cup matches

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