{"id":290373,"date":"2023-09-11T23:35:24","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T23:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/?p=290373"},"modified":"2023-09-11T23:35:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T23:35:24","slug":"former-fiji-fly-half-hits-out-at-referee-after-narrow-defeat-to-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/rugby-union\/former-fiji-fly-half-hits-out-at-referee-after-narrow-defeat-to-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Fiji fly-half hits out at referee after narrow defeat to Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little accuses referee Matthew Carley of &#8216;melting&#8217; under pressure in his nation&#8217;s narrow defeat to Wales, as he bemoans the standard of officiating at the Rugby World Cup<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wales held on to record a narrow World Cup victory over Fiji on Sunday night\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little was unimpressed with the officials in the game<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>He felt referee Matthew Carley &#8216;melted&#8217; under the pressure of the occasion\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Latest Rugby World Cup 2023 news, including fixtures, live scores and results<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little has said referee Matthew Carley &#8216;melted&#8217; under pressure after the Pacific Islanders were beaten by Wales in a World Cup thriller in Bordeaux.<\/p>\n<p>Warren Gatland&#8217;s side got their tournament off to a winning start thanks to a 32-26 success, but it was one they nearly threw away having led by 18 points with 10 minutes to go.<\/p>\n<p>In an astonishing finale, Fiji scored twice through Josua Tuisova and Mesake Doge and pounded away in search of a dramatic comeback. Wales conceded four penalties on their own line, but Carley didn&#8217;t show another of Gatland&#8217;s players a yellow card after earlier sin binning Corey Domachowski.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I thought the referee melted and didn&#8217;t want to give another yellow card. I&#8217;ve not been happy with the referees in general at this World Cup to be honest,&#8217; Little told Mail Sport.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;ve been a bit alarmed with their performances across the tournament. They are missing so much.&#8217; Wales conceded a total of 17 penalties across the 80 minutes but lost only Domachowski for 10 minutes. Fiji&#8217;s penalty count was nine, but they lost Lekima Tagitagivalu to the bin.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311495-12506517-image-a-49_1694469941783.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fiji were left to reflect on what might have been after narrowly losing to Wales on Sunday night<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311483-12506517-image-a-50_1694469977675.jpg\" height=\"535\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little (pictured) was frustrated with the officiating of the game<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311531-12506517-image-a-51_1694470034996.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>He felt referee Matthew Carley (pictured) &#8216;melted&#8217; under pressure in the closing stages\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Former Samoa ace Dan Leo bemoaned the treatment of his fellow Pacific Island nation on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Ex-England and Lions wing Ugo Monye also questioned Carley&#8217;s decision making.<\/p>\n<p>Monye told the BBC Radio 5 Live&#8217;s Rugby Union Daily: &#8216;In the last quarter, the way the game was managed just didn&#8217;t feel fair. They (Fiji) didn&#8217;t get things that were owed to them.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I just thought some of the refereeing decisions were totally out of kilter.. I&#8217;m not one to bang on about referees and just create this media storm because referees are so under the microscope anyway, but at times like this I think you have to be honest.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;You don&#8217;t need to have three or four penalties &#8211; two of which were cynical and automatic yellow cards &#8211; before you brandish a yellow card. They (Fiji) just didn&#8217;t get the law enforced the way in which it should have been done. If I were Simon Raiwalui or the players, I&#8217;d be fuming.&#8217; Fiji head coach Raiwalui said: &#8216;When we were down in the corner we had multiple penalties. It could have been more and we didn&#8217;t get a yellow card given against Wales.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311609-12506517-image-a-52_1694470098982.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Former England wing Ugo Monye was bemused by Carley&#8217;s refereeing on Sunday night<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311641-12506517-image-a-54_1694470194319.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fiji coach Simon Raiwalui (pictured) admitted his side felt like they didn&#8217;t get the rub of the green<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The referees have got a tough job. I respect what they do. There were a couple of occasions where we thought we didn&#8217;t get the rub of the green.&#8217; Little also bemoaned the inconsistency in decision-making which has been seen at the World Cup so far. England&#8217;s Tom Curry was sent off against Argentina for making head contact with Juan Cruz Mallia, but South Africa&#8217;s Jesse Kriel escaped punishment for a similar incident against Scotland after colliding with Jack Dempsey.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m just stating facts. Wales gave away four penalties on their own line and had only one yellow,&#8217; said Little, who won 71 international caps and played at four World Cups.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Fiji were penalised further out and it was a yellow card straight away.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;In the Scotland and South Africa game there were some calls I was flabbergasted by. The referees need to be better. This is the World Cup. How come they are allowed to make so many mistakes?&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The late drama in Bordeaux shouldn&#8217;t detract from the fact Wales were impressive for long periods and that the game was the best of the World Cup to date. Gatland&#8217;s side made a mammoth 253 tackles &#8211; a record for a World Cup game &#8211; as they eventually kept Fiji at bay to record a bonus-point success.<\/p>\n<p>Wales travelled from Bordeaux to Nice on Monday ahead of facing Portugal on the Cote d&#8217;Azur on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Their fly-half Dan Biggar was named official player of the match on what would have been the birthday of his late mother Liz who passed away in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I think she was looking down on us in the last passage of play,&#8217; said Biggar, referring to the spilled ball from Semi Radradra when a match-winning Fiji try looked certain.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/11\/23\/75311653-12506517-image-a-55_1694470256543.jpg\" height=\"454\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wales fly-half Dan Biggar (pictured) admitted it was a &#8216;relief&#8217; to get the win, as he delivered a player of the match display on what would have been the birthday of his late mother<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I found the game quite difficult because she would have been here making a big weekend of it. I suppose it was extra special. It was at the back of my mind.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;For me, it was a really tough day. It was a really nice moment to get the result and just a huge amount of relief.&#8217; Biggar admitted the tense end had &#8216;aged him a few years&#8217; and that &#8216;it felt like the clock was going backwards&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>He also said Wales had taken inspiration from 14-man England&#8217;s opening win over Argentina after they had lost Curry early on.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I thought England were absolutely magnificent,&#8217; Biggar said. &#8216;We spoke about having a little bit of a similar mindset. I think it really helped us watching their game as a team.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Results are the only thing that matter in this tournament and we&#8217;re off to a good start.&#8217;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The brutal nature of the Fiji game saw Wales lock Will Rowlands make 27 tackles on his own as the fitness of Gatland&#8217;s players impressed.<\/p>\n<p>Wales reported no serious injuries after Fiji but are poised to make several changes for their second match with Pool C minnows Portugal.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12506517\/Former-Fiji-fly-half-Nicky-Little-accuses-referee-Matthew-Carley-melting-pressure-nations-narrow-defeat-Wales-bemoans-standard-officiating-Rugby-World-Cup.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little accuses referee Matthew Carley of &#8216;melting&#8217; under pressure in his nation&#8217;s narrow defeat to Wales, as he bemoans the standard of officiating at the Rugby World Cup Wales held on to record a narrow World Cup victory over Fiji on Sunday night\u00a0 Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little was unimpressed with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290372,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Former Fiji fly-half hits out at referee after narrow defeat to Wales - Tell My Sport<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tellmysport.com\/rugby-union\/former-fiji-fly-half-hits-out-at-referee-after-narrow-defeat-to-wales\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Fiji fly-half hits out at referee after narrow defeat to Wales - Tell My Sport\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Fiji fly-half Nicky Little accuses referee Matthew Carley of &#8216;melting&#8217; 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