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McCaw gets away with more: Connolly
Monday, July 16, 2007
Wallabies rugby coach John Connolly today added more spice to the ongoing Richie McCaw debate, claiming referees gave the All Blacks captain more leeway than other flankers.
Connolly applied the early pressure on Welsh referee Nigel Owens before Saturday's Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup decider in Auckland when he joined the Springboks in questioning McCaw's methods.
"He (McCaw) plays right on the edge, there's no doubt, and we hope the referee keeps a close eye on it," Connolly said.
"I've always thought he gets away with a bit more but he is a great player and great players push the boundaries, especially in that position."
Asked if McCaw got away with more than his Wallabies opposite George Smith, Connolly played a straighter bat.
"They're different types of players."
An irate Springboks captain Johann Muller claimed McCaw got special treatment at the contentious tackled ball area, after he escaped punishment while flanker Pedrie Wannenburg was sin-binned by Australian referee Stu Dickinson during the All Blacks' 33-6 win in Christchurch.
"It just amazes me that for exactly that same infringement Richie McCaw wasn't sent off," Muller said.
"If McCaw was wearing a green jersey and had blond hair (Schalk Burger) or a yellow jersey and dreadlocks (Smith), he would never finish a test."
But Connolly disagreed with the notion that McCaw got special treatment because of his status as All Blacks captain.
"(Captaincy) does make a difference in some cases, not particularly in this case."
The All Blacks leapt to McCaw's defence yesterday, assistant coach Steve Hansen describing the renewed debate as "nonsense".
"It's easy to say Richie's getting away with blue murder. But if you remove the emotion out of it, he's very good at making a tackle, getting to his feet, fighting for the ball, particularly when we've won the tackle," Hansen said.
"A lot of the time he's forcing them to come from the side to remove him, so we should be getting the penalty. He's that quick, he'll make a tackle and get to his feet. Sometimes it's an optical illusion."
NZPA