Come on Sanzar, admit that Cheika cheated

Waratahs coach Micahel Cheika has a track record of rule breaking. Photo / Getty Images

The most chilling part of the Michael Cheika fiasco is how readily and easily Sanzar could pretend the whole business wasn't an attack on the game's integrity.

Back in the age when everyone was allowed to express themselves without fear of sanction, what the Waratahs coach did would have been called cheating. There's no sugar coating this one - it was out and out cheating - an obvious attempt to influence the outcome of the game by manipulating the mindset of the referee.

It's a little confusing that both the Australian and New Zealand Rugby unions have set up integrity units determined to find corruption - particularly match-fixing - and so far not a peep from either.

Shouldn't the integrity unit across the ditch be mildly intrigued about a coach entering a referee's room at halftime?

When exactly did this become okay?

The question Sanzar won't or can't answer publicly is whether they would have seen the incident in a different light if Cheika was not sitting with a suspended six-month sentence.

Rugby faces enough challenges in Australia as it is and Sanzar, despite their insistence to the contrary, lacked the appetite to pursue a course of action that ultimately could have ended up with the Wallabies looking for a new coach at the World Cup.

The game desperately needed credible, strong leadership on this - instead, Sanzar backed off and once they did, tried to then minimise, almost trivialise, the seriousness of the offence.

The problem with containing rather than dealing with scandal, however, is that it stores trouble for down the track.

What will Sanzar do, if later this year, All Black coach Steve Hansen spends the break having a polite 10 minutes with the referee? What recourse to complain or feel outrage would Cheika have?

There were layers of ugliness to this incident and its subsequent handling. The Waratahs laughably claiming that their title-winning coach who has worked around the world, didn't actually know he wasn't allowed to use the halftime break to knock on the referee's door and make polite inquiries.

Sanzar's ridiculous claim it had no impact on the way the game was handled was arguably the weakest response in professional history. The penalty count was eight one to the Blues in one half - nine-one against in the second half. People aren't stupid.

And how did Sanzar reach the conclusion referee Jaco Peyper hadn't let the business of the entirely normal and in no way illegal halftime events change his approach? Was it because they asked an independent referee to conduct a peer review of his performance? Nope.

It was based entirely on their conviction that Cheika had been polite in his interaction. Because Cheika had been polite - there was no case to answer.

So let's all move on said the Waratahs. Let's all move on said Sanzar. Let's all mock the New Zealanders while we are at it said some in Australia and ridicule them for their conspiracy theories and outrage at this non-scandal.

The fact the Blues are bottom of the pile means they are simply whining about something to hide their inadequacies.

But it is with the Blues where this nasty episode bites hardest. In the next two weeks, Sir John Kirwan, an All Black legend, top bloke and ambassador for the game, will face his board to learn his coaching fate.

Kirwan's job is on the line as he, as coach, is held accountable for the Blues' position. His team may have lost in Sydney anyway, but he has every right to feel the outcome was somehow tainted.

He's also entitled to wonder how it is he's so transparently accountable yet this whole Sydney saga was never going to be made public until the Herald made it so.

Sanzar wanted to keep it all a secret. Cheika can move on and keep his job with the Wallabies but Kirwan's reward for not cheating or going public about Cheika's actions will probably be to lose his job.