Wallabies coach Dave Rennie labelled the officiating in his side's last-gasp defeat to Wales ‘horrendous' and called for greater accountability in an extraordinary post-match spray.
Despite being down to 14 men for most of the game, the Wallabies led at the final siren but were beaten when Wales were awarded an 82nd-minute penalty and Rhys Priestland kick the winning goal. The 29-28 defeat ensured the Wallabies failed to win a match on a European spring tour for the first time in 45 years.
Rennie has not taken aim at officials at any point in his two years with the Wallabies but after his side's defeat - which included a contentious 15th-minute red card to Rob Valetini and a dubious yellow card to Kurtley Beale - the coach took aim at referee Mike Adamson and TMO Marius Jonker.
"I thought some of the decision-making by the officials tonight was horrendous, and played a big part in the result," Rennie said.
"I've been a professional coach for 20 years, and I've never gone in the media and had a crack at a referee or the referee group. But I felt I had to tonight."
The one-point defeat ensured the Wallabies finished the season on a three-match losing streak but Rennie couldn't have asked much more from his men.
They were forced to play with 13 men at one point in the first half, for 14 men for 65 minutes and led at the final siren, before Adamson found a penalty and Priestland slotted the match winner.
"We're incredibly proud of the effort. That was massive," Rennie said.
"We said we would empty the tank for each other, and when you're one short, two short, you have to do that. Heaps of character, and we got put under the blow torch.
"I thought the boys responded really well, so we're really proud of the guys. But I thought we deserved better."
The visitors fired out to a fantastic start when Andrew Kellaway put the finishing touch on the best passage of play Rennie's side conjured for the entirety of the tour but just over 13 minutes later, the match was turned on its head.
That's when Adamson pulled a red card from his pocket and gave Valetini his marching orders for a high tackle in which the back-rower made accidental, head on head contact with Wales lock Adam Beard.
Wallabies five-eighth Quade Cooper summed the decision up best.
"Speechless," Cooper wrote on Twitter.
Adamson opted for a yellow card in the 22nd minute, when the television match official intervened and ensured Beale was appropriately punished for a deliberate knockdown.
It was the Beale card which irked Rennie most, and left him calling for greater accountability for referees who make mistakes.
"I look back at Marius' decision, to sin bin Allan Alaalatoa against Scotland. During the week, we were told that was the wrong decision. It wasn't a yellow card. They're big moments. Getting an apology during the week isn't good enough," Rennie said.
"If we are going to have a TMO, there is no excuse for not getting the decision right, and we saw another example of that tonight.
"Everyone is accountable, or they should be. Certainly, we are. And we want to make sure the officials are also accountable. So, Marius' decision a couple of weeks ago decided a game, yet he was appointed again. Is there any accountability around guys making errors that are deciding Test matches?"
From the lineout which immediately followed Beale's penalty, Wales scored through Ryan Elias.
But Rennie's side responded. They dug in, and were arguably the better team, despite playing with the equivalent of a rugby league team for a 10-minute period.
Wales failed to capitalise on the significant numbers advantage, and only led 16-13 at the half-time break.
But Adamson ensured his influence was felt early in the second half, too, when Wales centre Nick Tompkins appeared to swat the ball down deliberately in identical fashion to Beale.
Every player on the field stopped, and waited for Adamson to award a Wallabies penalty.
The referee deemed that the ball had travelled backwards, allowed play to continue and Tompkins scored under the posts.
At that point, Wallabies fans had two choices. Laugh or cry.
Adamson then reduced the match to a 14-on-14 battle when Gareth Thomas was sent to the sin bin for a high, swinging arm clean out on Allan Alaalatoa which, if the same threshold was applied to the Valetini incident, probably could have been a red card, too.
With 20 minutes to play, the Wallabies trailed 23-13.
Back on even playing field, the Wallabies scored another sensational try.
Beale split the Welsh line, found Nic White in support, and the star halfback scored under the posts.
Despite all the questionable officiating, the Wallabies were in the contest. They trailed 23-20 with just over 18 minutes to play.
Filipo Daugunu then scored what might have been the best of three brilliant Wallabies tries.
Hunter Paisami charged straight through the heart of the Welsh defence but was brought down five out from the try line.
A superb passing exchange between Lachie Swinton, Rob Leota and Tom Wright put Daugunu in the left corner, and the winger produced an athletic finish in the left corner.
But James O'Connor's conversion attempt struck the post, leaving his side trailing by one point with seven minutes to play.
Will Skelton then made his presence known. The star lock played clearly his best match since returning to the Wallabies' fold, and he was the player who forced the penalty which gave Beale the chance to put his side in front.
It was a scene reminiscent of Beale's kick to win the match against the British and Irish Lions at Suncorp Stadium in 2013.
The result was different this time around. Beale famously missed that kick.
From 45 metres out and directly in front, he nailed the penalty. With two minutes to play, the Wallabies were in front.
But Adamson would have the final say.
After Wales worked their way deep into the Wallabies' half with the final passage of play for the night, he awarded an offside penalty and Priestland knocked it over from close range.
