Former England international Andy Good has backed referee Mathieu Raynal after the controversy

French referee Mathieu Reynold has been at the center of a controversy since Thursday, September 15. His decisions in control of the match between Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the fifth day of the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies, and especially the last, caused a lot of ink to flow.

As we play out the final moments of the game, with the Australians benefiting from a penalty near their goal line, Matthew Raynell decides to return the ball to the All Blacks, assuming that Bernard Foley is taking too long to play. Following this result, the New Zealanders would go to Queen to register a successful try (39-37).

A decision was disputed by the Australian number 10, who denied playing time, while the French umpire repeatedly warned him to play the ball. But against all odds, the latter has benefited from strong support in this story. Andy Goode, a former international opener for XV De La Rose, is yet to establish himself in the camp of tricolor umpires. While he is now working as a consultant for British television, he has offered support through his Twitter account.

“I don’t often agree with Matthew Raynall’s decisions, but I think he was right at the end of yesterday’s Bledisloe Cup match (Thursday September 15, editor’s note).”

“Anyone who still thinks Bernard Foley is tough should listen to Mathieu Raynal’s comments. The referee made the right decision (…) Here’s full footage of Mathieu Raynal giving time-loss penalties. Listen to the referee, he gives it to him. Lots of cautions to play and Bernard Foley’s time-wasting. He makes a logical choice.”

“I’ve often blamed Mathieu Raynal over the years, and in the last Bledisloe Cup meeting (Wallabies-All Blacks, editor’s note) there were some decisions worthy of criticism, but the controversial end of the game was not one of them.”

Here’s the full footage of Matthew Raynoll’s time-wasting penalty. Ask the ref, he gives a lot of warnings to play, he didn’t make the right call for me #AUSvNZL pic.twitter.com/EZZmtrUML7

—Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) September 15, 2022