All Blacks trample Springboks in second test | Thebigtip

New Zealand 21 bt South Africa 17 - by Chris Foley from smh.com.au

WELLINGTON: Springboks coach Peter de Villiers lashed out at the standard of rugby Test referees on Saturday and suggested cheating may be the only way to beat diverse law interpretations.

His outburst came after the Springboks suffered a second successive hiding from the All Blacks, losing the second Tri Nations Test 31-17 after being beaten the previous week 32-12.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry was full of praise for new law interpretations which allowed the team in possession to win quick ruck ball and play an expansive, running game. As a result they scored eight tries in the two Tests.

De Villiers was clearly happy with the way his side had lost the two Tests, which were controlled by northern hemisphere referees.

''I'm frustrated at the moment,'' he said, denying his side had lost the form that won them the Tri Nations title last year and helped South African sides dominate the past two Super 14 competitions under southern hemisphere referees.

''We've played now six [Tests this year] and in six games we've had six different types of plays on the ground. We've got the same skills as last year when we won the Tri Nations. We're used to playing with the new interpretations in the Super 14 and now in the six games we've played the law was a bit different on the ground.''

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