Kiwi poll reveals Super Rugby's 'worst' referee

SPOTLIGHT: New results from an anonymous poll conducted among current New Zealand Super Rugby stars has revealed who is the worst Super Rugby referee.

A 40-question survey conducted by NZME’s Sam Casey has offered an insight into the real opinions held by New Zealand’s Super Rugby players – from established All Blacks to professional rookies – about the state of the game nationwide.

Casey said he surveyed “over 100 players” from New Zealand’s five Super Rugby franchises, with the release of initial results on Monday causing a stir following the revelation that almost half of the poll’s participants disagreed with New Zealand Rugby’s decision to appoint Ian Foster as All Blacks head coach.

*Read: NZ players not happy with new All Blacks coach 

Forty-six percent of pollers, which included at least 15 players from each Super Rugby club, said they weren’t happy with Foster’s appointment.

Only 28 percent of players supported NZR’s decision to promote Foster from his position as Steve Hansen’s assistant, while a further 26 percent said they were “happy with Ian Foster but not the assistant coaches”.

With the results of 10 questions from the poll to be released each day this week, other interesting revelations found from Monday saw Beauden Barrett voted the best player in New Zealand with the backing of 40 percent of the nation’s players.

Barrett was also overwhelmingly voted the best first-five in the country with 58 percent of the vote, while Anton Lienert-Brown (66 percent), George Bridge (46 percent) and Damian McKenzie (47 percent) were regarded as New Zealand’s top midfielder, wing and fullback, respectively, by their peers.

Arguably the biggest talking point in the release of a further 10 results from the poll on Tuesday was that 44 percent of players voted Dane Coles as the “biggest grub” in the New Zealand game.

Brodie Retallick sat in a distant second with only 15 percent of the votes, while Jordie Barrett wasn’t far behind him with 13 percent of players voting for him.

Another intriguing aspect of Tuesday’s findings was that Australian official Angus Gardner was picked as the best referee in Super Rugby, receiving almost half of the players’ votes with 47 percent of the participants’ backing.

On the flip side of the equation, recently-retired referee Glen Jackson received 48 percent of the vote in the running for Super Rugby’s worst official.

Here is a full list of the poll results released so far:

Do you think NZR got it right with the new All Black coaching team?

No: 46 percent

Yes: 28 percent

Not assistants: 26 percent

Who is the best player in NZ rugby?

Beauden Barrett: 40 percent

Ardie Savea: 20 percent

Brodie Retallick: 12 percent

Eight others: 28 percent

Who is the best player 23 years of age or under in NZ rugby?

Jordie Barrett: 33 percent

Will Jordan: 22 percent

Luke Jacobson: 14 percent

Sevu Reece: 14 percent

Six others: 17 percent

Who is the best flyhalf in NZ rugby?

Beauden Barrett: 58 percent

Richie Mo’unga: 32 percent

Aaron Cruden: 9 percent

One other: 1 percent

Who is the best wing in NZ rugby?

George Bridge: 46 percent

Sevu Reece: 21 percent

Rieko Ioane: 13 percent

Ben Lam: 11 percent

Four others: 9 percent

Who is the best midfielder in NZ rugby?

Anton Lienert-Brown: 66 percent

Jack Goodhue: 21 percent

Ngani Laumape: 11 percent

Two others: 3 percent

Who is the best fullback in NZ rugby?

Damian McKenzie: 47 percent

Jordie Barrett: 25 percent

David Havili: 18 percent

Beauden Barrett: 10 percent

Two minutes to go, down 4, need to score a try. Whose hands do you want the ball in?

Damian McKenzie: 30 percent

Beauden Barrett: 24 percent

Richie Mo’unga: 10 percent

17 others: 46 percent

Who will be the next breakout star and make the All Blacks?

Cullen Grace: 17 percent

Hoskins Sotutu: 14 percent

Mark Telea: 12 percent

27 others: 53 percent

Who is the best professional coach you’ve had?

Tony Brown: 17 percent

Scott Robertson: 16 percent

Dave Rennie: 9 percent

Warren Gatland: 9 percent

Jason Holland: 9 percent

16 others: 40 percent

Who is the most respected player in NZ rugby?

Same Cane: 24 percent

Brodie Retallick: 17 percent

Dane Coles: 11 percent

Ardie Savea: 10 percent

10 others: 38 percent

Who is the biggest grub in the NZ game?

Dane Coles: 44 percent

Brodie Retallick: 15 percent

Jordie Barrett: 10 percent

Seven others: 32 percent

What player 25 years or under do you think will play 100 tests?

Anton Lienert-Brown: 40 percent

Jack Goodhue: 15 percent

Jordie Barrett: 13 percent

Eight others: 32 percent

Who is the best referee in Super Rugby?

Angus Gardner: 47 percent

Ben O’Keefe: 24 percent

Paul Williams: 22 percent

Three others: 8 percent

Who is the worst referee in Super Rugby?

Glen Jackson: 48 percent

Mike Fraser: 29 percent

Rasta Rasivhenge: 9 percent

Four others: 14 percent

What is the best ground to play at in NZ?

Forsyth Barr Stadium (Dunedin): 61 percent

FMG Stadium Waikato (Hamilton): 18 percent

Eden Park (Auckland): 8 percent

Five others: 13 percent

What is the worst ground to play at in NZ?

Central Energy Trust Arena (Palmerston North): 22 percent

Orangetheory Stadium (Christchurch): 20 percent

Sky Stadium (Wellington): 18 percent

Rugby Park (Invercargill): 15 percent

Four others: 25 percent

What player from another franchise would you sign at yours?

Scott Barrett: 28 percent

Beauden Barrett: 14 percent

Brodie Retallick: 10 percent

Ardie Savea: 10 percent

17 others: 38 percent

Who is the toughest player in NZ rugby?

Sam Cane: 44 percent

Brodie Retallick: 18 percent

Ardie Savea: 7 percent

11 others: 30 percent

Who is the hardest player to tackle in NZ rugby?

Ngani Laumape: 37 percent

Sevu Reece: 17 percent

Mark Telea: 9 percent

Ardie Savea: 9 percent

10 others: 28 percent

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