Rugby Championship
Australian anger with laser pen in face of kicker
ESPN Staff
October 6, 2014
Bernard Foley lines up a kick, Aregntina v Australia, Rugby Championship, Mendoza, Argentina, October 4, 2014
Bernard Foley lines up a kick during Australia's defeat to Argentina © Getty Images
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As Australia licked their not inconsequential wounds after their 21-17 loss to Argentina, they risked being accused of indulging in a spot of post-match whinging after they hit out at the refereeing, the crowd and a punishing schedule in a bid to find a scapegoat for the result. But they had a genuine grievance with complaints over the way Bernard Foley was forced to kick with a green laser pen shining a light into a his face,

The laser pen would be seen flickering over the face of Foley as he lined up a vital - and fairly straightforward - kick to put Australia 20-18 up in the dying minutes. His effort hit a post.

Foley had been subjected to the same laser treatment all afternoon and said he brought it to the attention of referee Nigel Owens but was not given the option of a re-kick. Referees have taken that option before, most notably in La Plata last year when the All Blacks' Aaron Cruden was given make a second attempt.

Seeing the light

  • While baying at kickers might be a part of the modern game - not a welcome one but here to stay and only likely to get worse - shining a laser pen into the face of a player in a bid to put him off is utterly unacceptable. There is no risk of injury - the pen is too far away and the beam not in one place for long enough - but that should not mean it is treated any less seriously.

    Given that it is highly unlikely a supporter will shine a pen into the face of his own player, it is safe to assume the culprit is an opposing fan. In that case, there should be no question in the referee's mind that if someone is put off by a laser pen and a kick missed, it should be re-taken.

    It is also down to spectators to help police this. Someone using a laser pen is obvious to those around them in the stands. We all have a responsibility to help stamp this out.

"It's not great but I suppose it's part of it," Foley said. "It's not what made me miss the kicks so you can't draw on it too much. It's disappointing that it's here and in the game but it wasn't the reason I missed the kick.

"It's not great. It was happening all night on all the kicks. I'm not too sure what you can do with the crowd there. It's a bit like the soccer stuff that they do over here, the carry on. You can't be doing it. But how do you stop them? Maybe the re-kick will teach them, but who knows?"

"It's problematic and only seems to happen in certain places," said Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie. "We've talked about this in the past and it's cropped up again."

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