No headaches over dreadlock-pulling

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said people were tempted to pull long hair. Picture / Getty Images

BRISBANE - The shattered Wallabies rugby team weren't about to split hairs over Jerry Collins' dreadlock-pulling while the All Blacks dismissed it as part of the game today.

Television cameras pictured a graphic image of Collins wrenching out one of George Smith's dreadlocks midway through the second half of last night's 13-9 Bledisloe Cup-clinching win by the All Blacks here.

There were no citings from the match commissioner, and the Wallabies refused to bleat about it.

"I saw that on the replay actually, but he (Smith) hasn't mentioned it," Wallabies coach John Connolly said.

The Wallabies were incensed after revelations from the Springboks camp earlier this month that they offered $100 to any player who could return to the dressing room with one of Smith's dreadlocks after previous Tri-Nations matches.

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen said Smith should expect to attract some attention on the field.

"I saw it at the time, and if you're going to have long hair, people are going to be tempted to pull it, I suppose," Hansen said today.

"I don't think it's a huge issue, it happens in every game. Colin Charvis who I used to coach (at Wales), he had long hair and he used to get his pulled too.

"I don't think it's something that people do deliberately, it's just something that happens at the time."

While Smith had some battle scars, the Wallabies were hurting on the inside after making huge strides in closing the gap on the All Blacks from the 20-point loss in Christchurch on July 8.

Their lineout was a menace for the All Blacks and they created scoring chances, but a dropped ball from Mark Gerrard and a stray Stephen Larkham pass cost them potential matchwinning tries in the dying minutes.

"We got into that red zone in the 22 and turned it over three, four, five times," Connolly said.

"It was a game that we could have won but New Zealand are very good in those tight situations.

"It was one of our better forward performances. I'm very proud of the effort they put in, and we've got to keep working on the reasons why we lost the game -- we turned the ball over in attacking areas."

Gregan meanwhile insisted their defiant act of bringing out tackle pads and cones for a warmup session after the All Blacks performed their Ka Mate haka, was legitimate.

While it seemed a clear case of delaying tactics to reduce any psychological advantage, Gregan claimed it was part of their regular on-field warmup which they were denied by pre-match entertainment.

Hansen said it was a blessing for the All Blacks.

"I'd like to thank them for doing that, it gave us a good opportunity to come down off the haka and get ready to play. But I thought the Wallabies played pretty well so I don't think it backfired."

- NZPA