ALL BLACKS AVOID FRENCH REF AT CHAMPIONSHIP

The All Blacks will not have controversial figure RomainPoite officiate them at the Rugby Championship after their recent encounters.


They would have another French referee Jerome Garces regulate proceedings when they play their two toughest games at the Championship.

The appointments for each fixture were announced on Tuesday. Garcesofficiated the game against the British and Irish Lions – which ended in a second Test loss. The same man would be in the middle when the All Blacks face away games against the Aussies and the Boks. The games are poised to happen on August 19th and October 7th.

When the All Blacks met the Lions at Westpac stadium in July, it was Garces that sent off Sonny Bill Williams while awarding a match winning penalty late in the game to the Lions to see them win 24-21.

It is a case of the lesser devil as the All Blacks do away with controversial Poite who infamously changed his decision late in the game at Eden Park for a 15-15 draw in the third Test.Poite is restricted to flag waving other games but gets no chance in the South Africa-Argentina game.

The All Blacks would have another controversial figure Wayne Barnes when they play Australia in Dunedin in August. The Englishman would also ref the game at Suncorp in Brisbane in October. Barnes would be remembered for missing a forward pass at the 2007 World Cup where New Zealand lost to the France Rugby team.

At the Championship, officials from Australia, Wales and South Africa will ref the rest of the games. Hopefully, there would be little or no dispute.