NRL voices question ‘embarrassing’ refereeing performance in first Ashes Test

Both Liam Moore and Jack Smith have been questioned by leading NRL voices after the first rugby league Ashes Test in over two decades, which was won by Australia 26-6.

How the Tests would be refereed was a contentious point ahead of the series given the fact they’re in England, where the rules are interpreted slightly differently than in the NRL.

Ruck speed was a major point of contention and that’s been noted by those down under after the first Test, whilst commentator Andrew Voss has joked that Australia should ‘kidnap’ Jack Smith and take him to the NRL, given his favourable calls to the visitors.

James Graham worked on commentary for the BBC having forged a post-playing career doing comms in the NRL and he was another of those to question Liam Moore.

“Liam Moore knows he’s in England right?”, Graham asked after the Super League referee penalised Jez Litten for a tackle off the ball and gave Australia a penalty in front of the sticks.

First rugby league Ashes Test sees referees under scrutiny

Graham’s grievances with Moore had started around five minutes earlier when Australia saw a try ruled out. Liam Moore gave no try on field and asked video referee Jack Smith to confirm and he quickly did so, pointing out that Dom Young was taken out in the air by Josh Addo-Carr.

On that, Graham queried: “I don’t know if we need to go to the video ref on that. The referee was in the perfect position. Just make the call sir.

“Let’s play fast, get on with it. Give England the penalty and move on.”

It wasn’t just commentary in England that was questioning calls but also the NRL media with Fox Sports’ Paul Crawley writing in his column that some of what Liam Moore let slide as “fair dinkum embarrassing”.

His major gripe was the ruck speed and how it will be infinitely faster under Australian referee Grant Atkins in Test two, leaving him to state: “God help the Poms then”, before theorising that Australia’s margin of victory is ‘likely to at least double’.

Fox Sports’ commentary also picked up on the ruck speed with Greg Alexander calling it ‘extraordinarily slow’, as Andrew Voss echoed Paul Crawley’s sentiment.

On the ruck speed, he said: “The interpretation, you’d have to believe with Atkins in charge will be different and I don’t think it will be to the benefit of England.

“It may make their assignment harder, they have gotten away with a bit today.”

It was also Voss who joked that Jack Smith should be ‘kidnapped, bound and gagged, and taken to Australia’ after he refused to rule out Reece Walsh’s first try despite an obstruction on Mikey Lewis.

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