Frustrated Wales coach Warren Gatland aimed post-match shots at referee Wayne Barnes as his Six Nations champions fell to a tormenting ninth straight loss to Australia.
After a tense week of pre-match barbs, the Wallabies kept their psychological stranglehold over the Welsh with a thrilling 30-26 victory at Millennium Stadium.
Wales had talked up the importance of breaking their five-year drought before meeting Australia in the 2015 World Cup ‘pool of death’ but captain Sam Warburton dismissed any thought the loss was a setback.
Gatland, who has now seen his team lose their past four meetings by less than four points, felt the result could have been different if not for two contentious second-half decisions by Barnes.
The New Zealand mentor was most upset Joe Tomane’s 50th-minute try, for a 27-16 lead, was allowed to stand after an Israel Folau pass floated marginally forward.
The English whistle-blower had called for the television match official (TMO) to show him a replay on the big screen and adjudged that Folau passed the ball backwards out of his hands.
“We thought it was forward,” Gatland said.
“The referee made the decision himself, without the TMO.
“I doubt he would have made that decision himself if it was the All Blacks playing,” he added in a shot at the prolonged Kiwi outcry following Barnes missing a French forward pass in New Zealand’s famous 2007 World Cup capitulation.
Gatland also argued that Wales could have been handed a penalty try with five minutes left when Quade Cooper tackled Scott Williams as, or just before, he received a Dan Lydiate pass on hot attack.
Barnes sin-binned Cooper in what was a contentious decision itself, one which had the Australian camp up in arms.
Neither side was happy with the flow of breakdown penalties in what was otherwise a cracking Test match.
Welsh five-eighth Dan Bigger was sin-binned late in the first half for a blatant ruck infringement after pulling Folau down on the line.
While he was off the field, the Wallabies scored 10 points.
With the Wallabies’ back-row superior, Gatland claimed Australia were lucky not to have had someone yellow-carded as well.
“They were smart in the way they played,” he said. “It was frustrating that of the 18 penalties we got, I think 14 were at the breakdown, which stopped some of the momentum we were trying to create.”
Although Wales have now lost 23 of their past 24 Tests to the three Southern Hemisphere heavyweights, he felt the were “knocking on the door”.
“We said to the boys to back yourselves and back your fitness and I think it was an Australian team that was falling into a hole at the end.”
