Australian rugby chiefs will seek urgent clarification over the end to Saturday’s Melbourne Test that ended their Lions series hopes.
Wallaby boss Joe Schmidt was fuming over Hugo Keenan’s try that sealed the cliffhanger and gave the tourists a 29-26 win which nailed the series.
Schmidt was fuming on Saturday night claiming Welsh flanker Jac Morgan took out Carlo Tizzano illegally in the build-up.
Kiwi Schmidt accused referee Andrea Piardi of neglecting player safety saying Morgan hit his man on the neck with his huge clear out and the score should have been chalked off.
And Phil Waugh, the ex-Wallaby flanker and now the ARU CEO, will be taking it up with the game’s governors.
Waugh said: “Joe’s comments were 100 per cent aligned with mine as a CEO and a former Wallaby. We’ll certainly be looking for a level of accountability from World Rugby over the next period of time.
“The game has come a long way and it will continue to be one of the biggest focuses, so consistency around player welfare is critically important.
“We’ll go through the official channels for post-Test match reviews, and we will expect a high level of accountability around some of the decisions.” When contacted, World Rugby refused to comment.
The Aussies had the Lions on the ropes when they were 18 points in front before Keenan’s late winner.
A sell-out crowd of 82,000 is expected at Sydney’s Stadium Australia this weekend and the Wallabies have vowed to front up, even though there is nothing on the line.
Veteran prop Allan Alaalatoa said: “The Australian way is you never back down. It’s a dead rubber, but we are still going out there wearing a Wallaby jersey, representing our country and representing our family.
“And we want to go out there and put on a good performance that everyone can be proud of. The disappointment that we are feeling – we will definitely be using that to feed us throughout the whole week.”
It is 59 years since the Wallabies failed to win a Test against the Lions, when they were beaten 2-0 in 1966, when the tourists were on their way to New Zealand.
Alaalatoa, 31, added: “The boys are gutted that we didn’t come away with that win.”