All Blacks press conference after Ireland loss. Video / NZ Herald
Coaches under pressure often see conspiracies that aren't there, especially when their team loses, but Ian Foster was right to be concerned that the match officials in Dunedin had a preconceived mind-set about the All Blacks.
After the first test in Auckland, Ireland supposedly received feedback from World Rugby thatthe All Blacks should have been shown two yellow cards but weren't.
A review of the game by the governing body's referee boss, Joel Jutge, allegedly concluded that Rieko Ioane should have been carded for a high tackle on Joey Carbery – an act that should also have led to Ireland being awarded a penalty try – and that Scott Barrett should have been sin-binned for a no-arms clean-out late in the game on Peter O'Mahony.
Ireland coach Andy Farrell, immediately after the game, told the media that he was curious about the referee's interpretation of how wide and how deep a ruck should be considered and somewhat obliquely questioned what was happening at scrum time.
Ireland's first penalty in Dunedin was given against Dalton Papalii, whom referee Jaco Peyper said had taken a player out past the ruck.
Then of course, three cards would be shown in the first 30 minutes – one of which was indisputable – but the other two, on another day ruled by another group of officials, could have been written off as accidental collisions.
Ireland coach Andy Farrell crafted a smart narrative following the first-test defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
The All Blacks were victims of their own inadequacies and Ireland's well-considered and smartly executed game-plan, but they were also, to some extent, victims of a narrative that clearly took hold in the aftermath of their opening 42-19 victory.
"There were clearly strong messages sent out last week," remarked All Blacks coach Ian Foster in Dunedin. "There was a feeling we should have had four yellow cards last week. It seemed to be the mindset that went into this game."
The All Blacks were unimaginative and uncertain, branding their performance unacceptable and Foster was not trying to connect the role of the officials with his team's failings.
But his point that the officials may have arrived in Dunedin on high alert for New Zealand indiscretions is worthy of further consideration because whatever problems the All Blacks currently face, the game itself is in far greater trouble.
Ireland clearly did a great PR job – both publicly and behind the scenes – to create the perceptions they wanted about the All Blacks.
And while it could be said this sort of work is smart and productive, it's also an indictment on the game, the people running it and the law book that there is a whole underworld of subterfuge and strategy connected to influencing officials in the lead up to a test.
Last year the Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus was globally condemned for producing and publishing on YouTube an hour-long video after the first test against the British and Irish Lions, showing 26 incidents in which he said the officials were wrong.
His crime, it would seem, was not his attempt to influence the officials, but the fact he did so publicly.
Rugby, a sport that promotes its integrity, seems quite happy to have back channels and secret worlds where agendas can be promoted, seeds planted and pictures painted, but suffers the worst moral outrage should anyone want to air their grievances transparently.
But the greater issue blighting the game is its conviction that yellow and red cards can be used to manage the outcomes it wants.
They have become to rugby what Valium was to medical practice in the 1950s – marketed as a wonder drug and prescribed for any and every ailment from mild disappointment to psychosis.
Cards have become referees' "Little Helper". If in doubt, flash one, has become the refereeing mantra of 2022; which seems like an entirely self-destructive philosophy given the sport is in the entertainment game and awash in private equity cash.
Leicester Fainga'anuku is shown a yellow card by Jaco Peyper. Photo / Photosport
And the blanket justification that these cards are all being shown in the name of player welfare has worn decidedly thin, because it seems that the people making the decisions are on some wildly misguided crusade to not make the game lower risk, but zero risk.
Who doesn't wonder what would have happened had Leicester Fainga'anuku successfully charged down Mack Hansen's first half kick on Saturday night and the ball had stayed in play.
Would the Irishman have been sent off for taking Fainga'anuku out in the air as the All Black could have argued he was on track to collect the loose ball and score.
It is so absurd as to border on farce; and while England coach Eddie Jones may not often be considered the voice of reason, he was on Saturday night when he rightly said that many of the cards shown over the weekend were not in the spirit of the game and that common sense needs to make a welcome reappearance.
