Fiji captain Waisea Nayacalevu claims there is a refereeing bias towards tier one nations. The 33-year-old made the accusation following his country’s quarter-final loss to England at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.
England beat Fiji 30-24 in Marseille to reach next Saturday’s semi-final. They will face South Africa after the Springboks knocked out tournament favourites and hosts France in a thrilling contest in Paris.
England appeared to be easing towards victory, leading by 14 points with just 15 minutes remaining. But Fiji’s spirit and determination saw them score two quick tries to level the match up at 24-24.
Steve Borthwick’s side relied on the excellence of their skipper Owen Farrell, who kicked 20 of their 30 points including a drop goal at a crunch moment when the scores were level. Fiji players sunk to their knees at the full-time whistle after giving their all.
But Nayacalevu felt the performance of French referee Mathieu Raynal had an impact on the result. He reckons there is an unconscious bias where tier two nations are treated differently to the sport’s traditional powerhouses.
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He said: “Absolutely,” before then adding: “You guys watched the game, you guys can answer that.”
Nayacalevu said there were a few decisions from Raynal that he was not happy with. He said: “Yeah, I’ll be honest. I was frustrated with a few calls.
“They had already formed a ruck and then (Courtney Lawes) just came in and grabbed onto the ball and there was no penalty there. Three times in the game.”
Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui was less critical of the referee. He admits his team had chances to win the game, even if some decisions from Raynal went against them.
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Raiwalui said: “There are obviously decisions where they go 50-50. The referees do a brilliant job, it’s the hardest position and you’re isolated.
“Sure, there’s things that you contest, there’s things that maybe you don’t agree on, but first things first we had opportunities to score, we had opportunities to win the game. We’re a huge supporter of every facet of the game and that includes refereeing.
“They do a wonderful job. They don’t go out there to pick a team and have their favourites. Sometimes there’s mistakes, sometimes the rub of the green doesn’t go your way.
“It is important that we support them and not isolate them. I’m very appreciative of everything they do.”
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