All Blacks philosophical about ref's call

The All Blacks were philosophical over the last-minute refereeing decision that ultimately deprived them of both the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations rugby titles in Sydney last night.

Ahead 14-13 and with the clock ticking down, the All Blacks were holding out frantically against the Wallabies when South African referee Andre Watson sounded a blast on his whistle that sank New Zealand hearts.

Watson ruled that replacement back Leon MacDonald had put his hand in a ruck just out from the All Black line.

Wallabies centre Matt Burke, who minutes earlier hit an upright with an unsuccessful conversion attempt from almost the same spot, made no mistake the second time around.

It was the last act of the contest and, after the ball sailed over the bar, the Wallabies hugged each other in jubilation.

While it was a hugely disappointing way to lose a test, both coach John Mitchell and skipper Reuben Thorne steered clear of any controversy over Watson's decision.

Mitchell said he saw "nothing at all", adding "I would have to review the tapes".

Thorne said he wasn't near the incident and so didn't see it.

"He called it the way he saw it. That's the way rugby is."

Thorne said he wasn't told by Watson whom he had penalised.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter," he said.

"I'm not going to blame any of the individuals. The team conceded the penalty. It was unfortunate the game had to end like that, but it just shows how tough these matches really are."

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones said Watson's decision was "rub of the green stuff", with the interpretation of the tackled ball law being the most contentious part of the game.

"Defending players are getting better at the tackle which means that the contest has gone up exponentially, and there are a number of decisions that the referee can make at any one time," he said.

"The big thing is to get field position. If you have field position and you have the ball, if something goes your way, you're in luck."

- NZPA