Rugby: Giteau fined $6300 for criticism of referee

Brumbies first five-eighths Matt Giteau was fined A$5000 ($6300) late last night as the fallout continued from his team's Super 14 loss to the Waratahs.

But he escaped suspension when a Sanzar judicial panel in Australia held a telephone conference to consider his stinging criticism of referee Steve Walsh.

Giteau will be free to play in Saturday night's vital clash against Queensland at Canberra Stadium, the ABC reported.

Sanzar referees manager Lyndon Bray said the criticism of Walsh made it untenable for him to officiate this weekend.

Kiwi Chris Pollock will take the whistle.

Many would see Pollock's appointment as the rugby refereeing equivalent of a hospital pass, but he prefers to view it as "just a normal game of footy".

In reality, it's anything but, with even Bray, Pollock's boss, describing it as a "big, big game".

Giteau's attack on Walsh had threatened to turn the match into a sideshow.

Following the 19-12 loss to the Waratahs, he launched a broadside at Walsh ahead of the Reds clash, saying: "I don't know if we will turn up. What's the point?"

Pollock, however, does not believe he is under any extra pressure.

"I'll be treating it as a normal game of footy. I won't be going in with any preconceived ideas. I'll be setting my normal parameters and see how it unfolds from there."

Yesterday, Bray acknowledged that the controversy created by Giteau and a scathing post-match review of Walsh had made it untenable for the expat New Zealander to officiate at the match.

"We balanced what was in the best interests of Steve against the best interests of the game. It's a big, big game," Bray said.

"The Reds are challenging for second and the Brumbies are on a very thin lifeline. In every sense we wanted this to be about the two teams, not the referee. Steve has completely agreed with our decision."

Bray has been critical of Giteau's outburst but does not expect it will open the floodgates for other teams to try to influence the appointment of referees.

Bray believes the relationship between the franchises and match officials is healthy.

"Philosophically, this is an extreme case," Bray said. "We've had very clear [law interpretation] priorities this year and most of the discussion and criticism has revolved around the ref's performance in relation to those."

The referees manager was encouraged by a conversation he had with Andy Friend in the wake of the Giteau spray, with the Brumbies coach making it clear he did not support his star player's comments.

Bray also backed Walsh's controversial no-try ruling against Adam Ashley-Cooper, as did Pollock, both believing it was a difficult decision to make, but the correct one.

Where Walsh fell short of expectations was not establishing the correct scrum protocols early, resulting in a lot of resets and decisions at the set-piece.

"I have a lot of empathy for bad scrum days," Bray said, "but if you don't nail the real issue and get on top of it early, it's very difficult to get it back.

"At the same time, the two teams have to take a lot of responsibility for the mess."

Another issue raised by Walsh's performance was referees controlling a game involving their "home" franchise, with concerns around public perception.

"We have a guideline where we try to avoid putting a ref in charge of their 'home' franchise, and 98 per cent of the time we've been able to stick to that," Bray said.

However, an injury to Stuart Dickinson meant a reshuffle last weekend, and Sydney-based Walsh was left in charge of the Waratahs.

- additional reporting: NZPA