Coach blows up over ref's calls

PRO14 REACTION: A second Welsh regional coach could be set for sanction after his criticism of refereeing.

Two second-half penalties from John Cooney ensured Ulster claimed a narrow 16-12 home success over Cardiff Blues, but Blues head coach John Mulvihill wasn’t happy with how the game was refereed by Stuart Berry.

Immediately after the match, Mulvihill said: “We weren’t happy with how the game was officiated, and I’m starting to get to a stage where I’m sick of it.”

The club website then repeated his claim online.

“We were very close, but some of the ways the game was officiated towards the end wasn’t right.”

“We used the ball really well and we knew we’d have a bit of opportunity up here, if we’re in the right positions of the field.

“Possibly in the second half, we played a little bit too much rugby around the half-way. It was quite difficult and greasy tonight for both teams.

“But it was a really good game and a really good contest. I just feel that we didn’t get our reward towards the end of the game.

If punished for his comments, the Australian will be the second regional head coach to be disciplined in the last two weeks.

Dragons’ head coach Bernard Jackman received a four-week stadium ban from Dragons matches, of which two weeks will be suspended until the end of the season and only imposed if there is any further breach.

By Ian Cameron, RugbyPass