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All Blacks running back Aaron Smith will go down in history as the first Super Rugby Aotearoa player to win a captain’s challenge following his successful referral to the Highlanders in their 39-23 win over the Chiefs on Friday night. night.
Meanwhile, his All Blacks teammate Chiefs co-captain Sam Cane was unsuccessful with a challenge in the same game because he didn’t ask through the correct process.
Cane said his water boy tipped him off, but the referral has to come from the players.
Kerry Marshall / Getty Images
Highlanders co-captain Aaron Smith speaking with referee Paul Williams on his win over the Chiefs.
There were no challenges in the first round last weekend.
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Smith, the Highlanders co-captain, led his team with hooker Ash Dixon on the bench and asked referee Paul Williams to check for foul play in preparation for Etene Nanai-Seturo’s disallowed try in the minute. 78 for the Chiefs at Hamilton.
The challenge was incidental to the outcome because the Highlanders led by 16 points with two minutes remaining, but had Nanai-Seturo’s score held, they would have lost their bonus point for scoring three more attempts than the Chiefs (5- two).
Smith had a chance and focused on the carry by Chiefs forward Mitchell Brown, who led with his elbow when Highlanders first five-eighths Josh Ioane tried to make an inning.
Williams verified the incident with Television Party Official Brendon Pickerill, and they decided that Brown’s carry warranted a Highlanders penalty, ruling out Nanai-Seturo’s consolation attempt.
“Good in Nug [Smith] for having a crack, ”said Dixon, his fellow co-captain, at the post-game press conference on Friday.
Kerry Marshall / Getty Images
Aaron Smith’s Highlanders co-captain Ash Dixon, pictured, praised the All Blacks running back for making a punt.
“That’s what it’s there for. One, you have to have the balls to do it. Two, you have to back your teammates with their decisions. “
Highlanders coach Tony Brown said his co-captains were the best in New Zealand and praised Smith, who replaced Folau Fakatava in the 50th minute, for doing the challenge.
“Aaron has become an amazing leader,” Brown said. “He has done a good job there [with the challenge] and his impact with 30 to go was huge for us. “
The Captain’s Challenge is one of two new rules that New Zealand Rugby has copied from the NRL and presented for the second edition of Super Rugby Aotearoa. The other is dropouts from the goal line instead of the 22-meter line.
Brown’s elbow was high and he caught Ioane close to his face, but it was only a penalty and he epitomized the second half of the Chiefs.
Nothing worked out for them after blowing a 20-6 lead against the resurgent Highlanders, who were inspired by Jona Nareki’s fantastic hat-trick of attempts.
Kerry Marshall / Getty Images
Sam Cane was unsuccessful with his captain’s challenge to the Chiefs.
Cane said Williams turned down his challenge because it wasn’t coming directly from the players on the field.
“A water boy said [Chiefs midfielder] Sean Wainui stepped back when we tapped fast, something he hadn’t seen, ”said the All Blacks captain.
“When I went to broadcast that, they said it had to come from us as players. That was the heart of the matter. “
Cane accepted the decision as he reflected on his 10th consecutive loss, a franchise record, before a daunting trip south to face the Crusaders, the four-time defending champions, in Christchurch next Saturday.
Williams was the referee when the captain’s challenge first appeared in a preseason clash between the Blues and Crusaders in Cambridge two weeks ago.
Codie Taylor, the captain of the Crusaders on the field, was incorrectly denied a challenge after Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens’ attempt for the Blues.
Williams rejected the All Blacks prostitute’s reference, but there was a break in communication and the officer realized his mistake afterward, apologizing to Taylor.
Taranaki’s referee seems to have learned from that preseason mess and it seems likely that after Smith’s punt to retain his team with a precious bonus point there will be more challenges.
HOW THE CAPTAIN CHALLENGE WORKS
– The referral of a captain will give each captain one opportunity per game to ask the referee to have the television match official check for an infraction in the run-up to a try, or to review foul play.
– Captains will have 10 seconds to make their recommendation after a try has been awarded and the TMO will be able to return to the last stop in the game, regardless of how many phases have been played.
– If the sending captain is correct, he will keep his remission, but if the original decision of the referee stands, or the TMO images are not ‘clear and obvious’, the captain loses his remission.
– The captain’s reference will be applied more broadly from the 75 minute mark in any match, at which point the captain, provided he has not already lost his reference, can use it to verify the decision of any referee, regardless whether a try has been scored. .
– The scrum and the lineout are not included in the recommendation process.
