By SCOTT MacLEOD and NZPA
The South African referee whose long second half cost New Zealand the Bledisloe Cup says the All Blacks wasted six minutes mucking about with their lineouts.
A Herald stopwatch analysis shows 7m 35s were added to normal time at the end of the second half.
The crucial final lineout took place 2m 6s after referee Jonathan Kaplan said there were just two minutes left in the match.
Kaplan said yesterday that he used a stopwatch during Saturday's clash with Australia and was in "no doubt" that he played 80 minutes of rugby.
"In fact, I could have gone on a bit more," he said. "If you count up the amount of time they used in the lineout, it's six minutes."
Kaplan's timekeeping gave Wallaby skipper John Eales the chance to slot a penalty goal for a dramatic 24-23 win, meaning Australia kept the cup after two thrilling tests.
The penalty came after the Wallabies snaffled the ball from an All Black throw to the final lineout.
Herald rugby writer Wynne Gray says that there may have been some confusion about the call, with prop Craig Dowd jumping for the ball instead of lifting his captain, Todd Blackadder.
After whistling full-time, Kaplan faced a shower of abuse and plastic beer bottles from irate spectators among the capacity 36,000 crowd in Wellington's WestpacTrust Stadium.
But Kaplan said that he had warned both camps on Friday about wasting time.
"When there's a lineout they all get together and discuss it for a while, then the hooker comes back to get a clarification from the jumpers. That's wasting time.
"I could have been a policeman and penalised them each time. I could have given Australia another 10m when your No 8 [Rob Cribb] kicked that ball away."
Other football codes such as rugby league and gridiron often use hooters or off-field officials to mark time, but New Zealand rugby's national referee manager, Keith Lawrence, said Kaplan was the sole judge during Saturday's game.
He was allowed to take into account slow goalkicks and lineouts as well as injury breaks.
Mr Lawrence said extra time should be played at the end of each half, and referees often discussed with touch judges to decide how much was left.
A new law effective from August 1 now lets referees talk with off-field officials such as time-keepers, but does not yet apply in the Tri-Nations.
All Black coach Wayne Smith said he was gutted at losing. If the lineouts were slow then it was probably because the stadium was too noisy for the players to hear each others' calls.
"We're the last ones to slow things down. We said to [Kaplan] that we didn't even want to stop for injuries unless it was a front-rower hurt. But I've got no complaints about him - we had our opportunities and we didn't nail them."
Kaplan, 33, said he awarded the final penalty against prop Craig Dowd for hitting a breakdown from the side. He held no grudges about the resulting furore and was grateful to All Black lock Norm Maxwell and team doctor John Mayhew for helping him from the field.
Dr Mayhew said he and Maxwell saw objects fly over their heads towards the referee.
"I looked around and a plastic bottle of fluid just exploded on [Kaplan's] chest. It was just madness. It was very bad sportsmanship from that section of the crowd."
He said many in the All Black camp felt the game went on long enough, but could not complain about infringing or losing two lineouts that led to the final penalty.
South Africa's honorary consul, Gregory Fortuin, praised Maxwell and Dr Mayhew for their sportsmanship in helping his countryman and said he would ask his Sports Minister to personally thank the pair.
"You might have lost on the scoreboard, but we thank you as champions of fair play," Mr Fortuin said.
The win means Australia and NZ are both on 10 points in the Tri-Nations, but the Wallabies have an edge on points differential. Both sides are still to play South Africa.
BY THE STOPWATCH
The second half:
05m 49s: Tussle in scrum, 8s stoppage
14m 13s: Maxwell/Larkham fight, 20s stoppage
14m 55s: Gregan warned, 37s stoppage
34m 53s: Foley, Mortlock injuries, 32s stoppage
43m 10s: Referee says '2 (minutes) to go"
45m 16s: Last lineout, leading to penalty
46m 09s: Penalty awarded
47m 35s: Game over.
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