The 'wisdom' that has earned Australian referee Angus Gardner praise

Former Scotland boss Matt Williams has heaped praise on his fellow Australian, referee Angus Gardner, following his performance in charge of last weekend’s opening-round Rugby Championship game between New Zealand and Argentina.

Los Pumas emerged victorious in Wellington, defeating the All Blacks 38-30 with an unstoppable second half comeback, and ahead of this Saturday’s rematch in Auckland, Williams has doffed his cap to the way Gardner officiated.

Writing in his weekly Irish Times column, Williams said: “The quality of the game in Wellington also showcased common sense from the Australian referee Angus Gardner. He displayed great rugby intellect in his interpretation of the advantage law, which empowered the skills of both teams to such an extent that not a single scrum was set until the 60th minute.

“The wisdom he displayed in interpreting the accidental shoulder to head contact of the Ethan Blackadder tackle, as he was pounded by the attacking Puma prop Joel Sclavi, is a great example to all referees and was applauded by everyone who has ever laced up a boot. The contact was clearly an accident caused by the Puma ball carrier and Gardner got it right.”

Williams also gave his verdict on the fresh law trials that were in use in the Rugby Championship, both in Wellington and across the Tasman in Brisbane where South Africa comfortably overpowered Australia 33-7.

“The first week of the new trial laws showed they were also highly successful in both matches,” he reckoned. “With the defending scrum-half now unable to follow the ball through on to the attacking side, the Wallabies used what is termed ‘channel one ball’.

“This is when the hooker strikes the ball so it exits the scrum between the left flanker and the number eight. This technique takes about two seconds for the scrum-half to feed the scrum and then regather the ball.

“The giant Springbok pack hardly knew the scrum had started before it was over. This resulted in zero scrum penalties on the Wallabies feed and their backline repeatedly received possession from their scrum. Both huge gains for the game.”

Williams also highlighted what he termed coaches exploiting loopholes in the new law trials. “The ability of coaches to exploit loopholes in the laws was also on display. With the new shot clock for all kicks at goal set at 60 seconds, the captains on all four teams theatrically delayed their decision on whether to kick for touch or to take a shot at goal.

“Their aim was to give their kickers and forwards more time to catch their breath. The referees must start the 60 seconds shot clock immediately after the penalty has been awarded.”