Richie McCaw keeps turning the other cheek.
Crusaders flanker
McCaw was loudly jeered by a ribald Sydney crowd when yellow carded last
weekend, crudely rammed in the back by a wild-eyed Will Skelton and
witnessed team-mate Sam Whitelock get flipped in an illegal tip-tackle.
What
happened during the 32-22 loss to the Waratahs at ANZ Stadium could
make the meekest of Kiwi rugby fans scream obscenities at referee Marius
van der Westhuizen, but McCaw doesn't want to poison his reputation by
having a crack at the officials.
So what do you make of the standard of refereeing, champ?
"That's a loaded question isn't it?" McCaw says. "I wouldn't mind playing next week, too."
To
criticise the officials is to bring the Sanzar competition into
disrepute and that, in turn, means McCaw could risk being censured.
Yet
is a fair question. And given McCaw's standing in the game, it jars
that he cannot publicly state what everyone knows - that the officiating
needs to improve.
Given the way van der Westhuizen froze when
Skelton rumbled around the park dishing out cheap shots, McCaw would be
justified in questioning why the giant Auckland-born lock wasn't yellow
(or red) carded - like Tolu Latu - after Whitelock was illegally
tackled.
Or why Skelton wasn't binned for crudely barging McCaw in
such a cowardly manner. Or why he escaped penalty for dropping his
shoulder into Whitelock when he was on the deck. Or why late shoulder
charges on Dan Carter and Tom Taylor weren't detected.
Clearly van
der Westhuizen was dozing behind the whistle because the judiciary have
since suspended Skelton and Latu for two and four weeks respectively,
pending an appeal by the Waratahs.
"I just hate looking at blame," McCaw adds. "I always say that to our
team. Look at ourselves first; if we are squeaky clean with everything
we do, then we might be able to start blaming other people.
"It is a fluid game and human elements come into it ... it is a bloody tough game to ref."
