Never-before-seen Bledisloe Cup footage shows Wallaby Bernard Foley snubbing ref before horror call
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Never-before-seen footage of the Bledisloe Cup shows Bernard Foley the referee in act SNUBBING
- Wallabies fly-half Bernard Foley is seen ignoring referee Mathieu Raynal
- Unfolded before Raynal gifted the All Blacks win in the first Bledisloe Cup test
- Ex-Walaby Will Genia said the new vision was ‘huge’, Foley could be to blame
- New Zealand won test 39-37 in Melbourne with tryout wide from Jordie Barrett
- Seconds earlier, Foley was penalized for taking too long to kick out
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New footage from the first Bledisloe Cup test match has shown Wallabies half Bernard Foley ignoring referee Mathieu Raynal in the lead up to the questionable time-wasting decision that gave the All Blacks the win.
Stan Sport played the images on Thursday’s panel show Rugby heavenwhere the French whistleblower can clearly be seen telling Foley not to kick a conversion.
‘Please wait. You have to wait. You have to wait!’ Raynal yelled at Foley as he mounted the stairs.
Obviously Raynal at the time asked for clarification from the televised match official (TMO) that there was no forward pass leading up to a Wallabies attempt.
Foley sent the ball between the posts somewhat arrogantly anyway – and former Australian scrum half Will Genia believes the No. 10’s behavior at Marvel Stadium would have infuriated Raynal.
New footage from the first Bledisloe Cup test match has shown Wallabies half Bernard Foley ignoring referee Mathieu Raynal ahead of the questionable time-wasting decision that gave the All Blacks victory
Former Wallabies scrum half Will Genia described the new vision as ‘huge’ and suggested Foley’s behavior may have gotten under the referee’s skin
“Those images are huge because for me personally, as I’ve been out there on the pitch with umpires and your interaction with them, that definitely stays in his psyche to move forward,” Genia said.
“Obviously Bernard kicks the goal and Bernard at the end, who takes the penalty to kick it out. For me, it’s definitely something that’s in his head.
“The funny thing is, he asks him to wait, but then still allows the goal kick to go through and the conversion succeeds, when he had every right to withdraw it.”
Wallaby’s great Tim Horan was equally surprised that Raynal allowed Foley’s conversion to last, as he was in consultation with TMO official Ben Whitehouse.
“He could have brought it back, I think he was waiting for the TMO to see if it was a forward pass to (Andrew) Kellaway or not,” Horan said.
“Bernard Foley knew he was probably going to go to TMO so he fell for it quickly. But Raynal had a chance to get him back and then just kept playing.
“So I’m not sure if it was playing in his head for the last 90 seconds or not, but it could have happened.”
Former Wallaby Adam Ashley Cooper was stunned by the crucial call to the field that saw New Zealand steal a 39-37 win at death
In dramatic scenes, Raynal punished Foley for wasting time late in the match before handing a crucial scrum feed to the All Blacks near the Wallabies try-line.
Seconds later, New Zealand won the match 39-37 after Jordie Barrett scored in the corner.
The All Blacks have already claimed the Bledisloe Cup and only need to win one of two tests in the Rugby Championship.
They’re also virtually unbeatable at Auckland’s Eden Park, having last been beaten by the Wallabies in 1986 at the iconic sporting venue.
Australia has also not won on New Zealand soil since 2001 and faces an uphill task in the second test on Saturday at 5pm (AEST).