Rugby: Hansen backs his props as Sheridan is saluted

Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

While England appeared to win the scrummaging battle at Twickenham, the All Blacks felt the contest was dominated by the irregular decision-making of the referee.

New Zealand conceded nothing after the game, refusing to accept there were any major set-piece issues to address even though they were penalised six times for disrupting scrums.

Forwards coach Steve Hansen bristled at the idea Andrew Sheridan, a giant man who could really come to something if only he could carry the ball with more grunt than a hairdryer, had the better of Owen Franks.

"I don't think that was the case at all," said Hansen. "I don't know that we got the calls right in the adjudication. Both tight-heads were folding in at times, but only one side was being penalised for it. We were okay on our ball, but on their ball when we tried to put the pressure on them ..."

In Milan last year it appeared as if Martin Castrogiovanni gave Wyatt Crockett a frightful going over only for the performance of match referee Stu Dickinson to be rubbished by IRB referee boss, Paddy O'Brien.

Again, there are grounds for believing the All Blacks have a legitimate gripe. They rate their scrum and they want the contest to unfold, for the referee to keep out of the way and let the two packs sort things out.

The platform was strong and stable when the All Blacks put the ball in, while almost every scrum in the second half degenerated into chaos whenever England were in possession.

That's an anomaly that can't be ignored. "I don't know if you can say you were dominant just because you are getting penalties," was the assessment of All Black loose-head Tony Woodcock.

Woodcock's frustration with the referee was as obvious as Hansen's and wasn't helped by the fact feedback was inconsistent after each infringement.

Still, the shenanigans around the set-piece will have focused All Black minds that in this part of the world, scrums are a serious business. The prevailing mind-set effectively says if the scrum is right, the game will be won.

The All Black forwards can expect to spend more time crunching into each other in the build-up to Scotland.

The perception is hard to shake that the All Black scrum was in a bit of trouble against England. Point taken about the inconsistent refereeing, but reputations take a battering when the imagery is telling a horror story.