The Wallabies and All Blacks played out one of the wildest Bledisloe encounters in recent memory, with the final 90 seconds dominating discussions in the aftermath.
Dave Rennie's men looked to have sealed a famous comeback victory, defying a 31-13 scoreline to take the lead in the 77th minute via a monster Nic White penalty.
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Lalakai Foketi's pilfer with 90 seconds remaining repelled what looked like one final effort from the All Blacks, all but securing the win.
All but.
As Bernard Foley took his time to find touch, referee Mathieu Raynal deemed Foley to have taken too long, ruling a free kick 5 metres out from their line.
Jordie Barrett took advantage of the chaos, finishing off a backline move in the corner as the All Blacks escaped with the 39-37 victory.
The decision erupted on social media, with ex-players, fans and officials weighing in on the matter.
Former Wallaby Matt Giteau was the most scathing, labelling it the worst he's ever seen whilst Tim Horan in the call for Stan Sport called it 'ridiculous'
“I’ve been commentating for over 20 years, I thought it was a disgraceful decision by the referee and I thought he cracked under pressure," he added.
“I reckon you could have another 15 referees, big referees for World Rugby, that would have taken that calmly and wouldn’t have got overhauled by the experience - 90 seconds left in the game, and he cracked under pressure in one of the biggest moments, one the biggest games here in Australia, it was a disgraceful decision and World Rugby need to look at it.”
Neither coaches nor captains from either side could recall it ever happening across their extensive careers, split on the decision.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie suggested the referee lost the 'feel' of the game, denying them a famous victory.
“I haven’t seen a decision like that at any level,” Rennie told reporters.
“I spoke to Bernard after the game and he was under the impression that time was off and the referee had told him to play. At no stage was he told or did he believe he would call a scrum from that.
“Most situations the clock is off and stays off, sounds like it went off and then he started it again. But as we know, a team scores a try late and they take their time getting back to halfway, they just top the clock.
“The disappointing thing from our point of view is it was a fantastic game of footy and we should be celebrating the game rather than talking about a referee decision at the end.
“…You’ve got to have a feel for the game and the situation and if teams are wasting time then stop the clock. Let the teams decide the outcome. A real lack of feel for the occasion.”
“It’s left a sour taste in our mouth because it was a cracking game, great crowd and right to the wire. I feel unfulfilled, it’s a bit weird," captain James Slipper added.
“I played 120 Tests and I’ve never seen it. It would be interesting to see if the call was made ten minutes into the game. He made a call.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster took an alternative view, believing the decision was clear cut.
The footage seemed to show Lalakai Foketi amongst other backs yelling at Foley to kick it out, although Rennie revealed Foley was under the pressure time was off and therefore, no pressure to speed it up.
“I thought it was very clear cut,” Foster argued.
“They were delaying the kick, he said time off, warned them and then speed it up. He asked them twice to kick it. I understand there was some contention but I thought it was very clear cut from our position.
“The other one that wasn’t was when Kellaway scored and the TMO wanted to look at a very suspicious pass and yet the conversion was allowed to be taken. There were swings and roundabouts for both cases. It is what it is.
“Part of your game management is listening to the referee so when the referee says time on, you have to play it. I heard very clear what the referee said so I think we have to be careful, people think that decided a Test match, you have to go through and analyse each decision in the game.
“I thought the referee was very clear with what he did. Whether people agree or disagree, he had a very clear mindset about it.”
What Foster did take issue with was Darcy Swain's cleanout on Quinn Tupaea, which Rennie downplayed
Swain was yellow carded for an ugly incident on Quinn Tupaea, with Foster all but confirming a long-term ACL injury.
“We’ve got a big issue with that,” he said on the cleanout.
“We’ve got a player who is likely out for 9 months and you're not allowed to target legs on the cleanout side of the ball. The rules are pretty clear."
“I’m not convinced about Darcy Swain’s, it was certainly nothing intentional; ironically he got neck-rolled prior to him cleaning out but that wasn’t picked up,” Rennie responded.
