Rugby: Michael Cheika calls for accountability after controversial no-try

Michael Cheika, Head Coach of Australia. Photo / Getty

Michael Cheika wants some accountability from World Rugby after a controversial no-try ruling cruelled the Wallabies' hopes of conjuring a famous upset win over the mighty All Blacks.

Cheika refused to blame the contentious call to overturn a Henry Speight five-pointer for Australia's 37-10 loss to New Zealand on Saturday night but was unable to hide his disgust.

Speight appeared to have locked up the match at 15-all in the 45th minute - with Bernard Foley's conversion attempt to come - only for the television match official to intervene.

Wallabies winger Dane Haylett-Petty was deemed to have changed his line and taken out Julian Savea as his opposite number was pursuing Speight.

The decision left the Wallabies fuming, with the All Blacks rubbing salt into the wound 10 metres later with an 80m try to Savea against the run of play to turn the Test.

"Obviously I can't say anything because they've got you by the throat. But I've just never seen shepherding from behind before," Cheika said after the All Blacks survived a huge scare to notch their world-record 18th successive Test win.

"Before any of that, though, we've got to own our mistakes ... before we start talking about the turning point and all that business because we can only call it a turning point if we lose by less than one score perhaps.

"(But) I know there's the ramifications of the game and, at the end of the day, someone's got to own those mistakes as well.

"So we'll see what happens. We'll see if World Rugby comes out with an announcement or anything like that."

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said that decision was clear-cut.

"Did he change his ground and did he drop his shoulder into [Julian Savea]? Yes, is that allowed? No. Unfortunately, that's the way it was.

"If you look at the one Dane Coles got [potential penalty try], Foley was just about tackling him. Swings and roundabouts. He got pulled up for one and let go with one. That's what rugby is about. Sometimes decisions don't go your way and you can't get all sulky about it. You've just got to man up and say that's what's happened.

"It's a hard game to ref and some days you get some things right and some days you don't.

"You've just got to accept what happens on the park and leave it there. And go away say what do we have to do to get better. That's what we do every week. We're never satisfied with what we've done. We know sometimes the rub of the green doesn't go our way.

"Was it critical? Well, yeah, the try would have been critical, there's no doubt about that but it wasn't awarded because the referee felt that the laws had been broken, and he's the sole judge."

Against all odds, after a sloppy start, the Wallabies recovered from 10-0 down to have the All Blacks under pressure for the first time all year.But further late strikes to Savea and hooker Dane Coles, after unconverted first-half five-pointers to backline aces Israel Dagg, Anton Leinert-Brown and TJ Perenara were enough for the All Blacks.

The victory in front of 47,744 mostly All Blacks fans completed an 18-match winning streak that began in 2015 against the Wallabies at the same venue - where New Zealand are unbeaten since 1994.

After falling to England earlier in 2016, the loss also consigned the Wallabies to 3-0 series defeats against two nations in a single season for the first time.

- AAP