Former All Blacks coach Joe Schmidt expressed his disappointment after Australia's 25-7 defeat at the hands of England, citing "gamesmanship" by the English team in their pre-match dealings with referee Nika Amashukeli.
The Australian side was left to lament on questionable calls made against them during the game, particularly a pair of yellow cards awarded for coming into the breakdown illegally.
In response to these incidents, Schmidt maintained that he believed the referee remained impartial throughout, stating that his team had been unfairly penalized and that they were not excessively penalised for side entry.
This was despite the fact that England's coach, Steve Borthwick, reportedly raised several instances of Australia entering rucks from the side in their pre-match meeting with the referee. England refused to confirm if these concerns were accurate but Australia captain Harry Wilson dismissed them as "quite amusing."
The Australian side was left to lament on questionable calls made against them during the game, particularly a pair of yellow cards awarded for coming into the breakdown illegally.
In response to these incidents, Schmidt maintained that he believed the referee remained impartial throughout, stating that his team had been unfairly penalized and that they were not excessively penalised for side entry.
This was despite the fact that England's coach, Steve Borthwick, reportedly raised several instances of Australia entering rucks from the side in their pre-match meeting with the referee. England refused to confirm if these concerns were accurate but Australia captain Harry Wilson dismissed them as "quite amusing."
did they really think england was going to let off easy? i mean, england has been having a pretty solid season so far and this win is a big one for them 
but seriously, gamesmanship can be super frustrating when you're on the other end of it... like, if you're gonna complain about something in pre-match talks, at least have the guts to say it during the game instead of after 
like seriously what's going on here? joe schmidt is right, gamesmanship at its finest... or should i say worst? 
and dont even get me started on steve borthwick, who's playing referee? 
. if you're gonna make a complaint, own it and don't try to stir up drama like england did 
australia needs to work on their breakdown skills lol. joe schmidt is right though, gamesmanship was definitely a thing here. i mean, england knew they had an edge with their rucks from the side and they played it smart. australia kept going in headfirst which is just gonna get u penalized all day. 
and honestly aussies got robbed by the ref too, those yellow cards were so harsh 
. It feels like everyone's taking it too personally - Schmidt and Borthwick are acting like they're playing for the World Cup title instead of just trying to win their respective matches 
. And let's be real, Nika Amashukeli is gonna do his job as a referee, no matter what team's complaints he hears 
! Those yellow cards felt like a total bias against them, and it's crazy that they didn't get more calls in their favor 
. Can't wait to see what happens next in the World Cup! 
