France head coach Fabien Galthie has stated that referee Ben O’Keeffe admitted he ‘was not happy with his performance’ in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
Les Bleus, who hosted the tournament, were knocked out at the last-eight stage by eventual winners South Africa.
The Springboks emerged 29-28 triumphant to reach the semi-finals to leave the French utterly devastated.
Six Nations struggles
That disappointment seemed to linger and affect their early Six Nations performances as they lost heavily at home to Ireland.
They then escaped with a barely deserved win over Scotland at Murrayfield before almost succumbing to Italy in their third-round match.
Galthie himself appears to be struggling to get over that World Cup frustration and in his Six Nations debrief talked about O’Keeffe’s display in the quarter-final.
“We lost the quarter-final for rugby reasons but also for refereeing decisions. We also spoke about it with Ben O’Keeffe during a recent meeting at World Rugby,” he told reporters.
“We accept the decision as a necessary component of the game. Never will you witness me respond angrily to a refereeing call. But we may talk about it icily.
I thus got the chance to talk with Ben O’Keeffe in a World Rugby committee. During the meeting, there was a conversation regarding the coaches’ conduct.
“I took the floor and stated that we needed to treat the referees with respect since we had a big responsibility to play as educators. This is essential.
“I informed him that dubious choices had had a significant effect on my guys. Everyone was in agreement that certain choices weren’t the best ones. He, too, was not at all pleased with his performance.
Debate over decisions
Refereeing decisions will inevitably be subject to debate when games have been decided by the narrowest of margins.
France themselves have benefited from tight calls at the end of matches recently in their victories over Scotland and England.
Though probably not as much as Kwagga Smith’s arms, those occurrences drew loud criticism in the aftermath, with Galthie still expressing annoyance at the Springboks back-rower’s penalty call.
“Kwagga Smith turned over a ball with his elbows on the ground, giving the Springboks three points, for example,” he stated.
“Today, we want to rely on the rule-making and regulation work done by these World Rugby bodies. We need to speak up and be heard.
“We need to voice our opinions. We desire to compete with the South and the rugby-dominant nations on an equal footing.
