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The highly entertaining match, which the Tahs sealed with a 72nd-minute 90m intercept try to Lachlan Turner, was refereed by inexperienced Kiwi Garratt Williamson who had officiated in just one Super 14 contest prior to this season.
Running the line were Aussies Paul Marks and James Leckie, and Lam made it more than clear that he thought the two assistant referees had an undue influence on the match.
"All we ask for is an even playing field," said an exasperated Lam. "We had concerns about the appointment of an inexperienced referee, and particularly the touch-judges -- one has been dropped by Sanzar and the other has been cut from Australia's top referee panel.
"We had the ref ears, and the real concern we were getting the whole game was 'white this, white that', and not one call was made on the Waratahs. When I reviewed the game, sure enough there wasn't one.
"I looked at the penalties we gave away through the game, and saw countless examples where they could have been called against the other team, and weren't. I know this can sound like sour grapes, and we did not lose the game because of that. It just made the challenge a lot harder."
Lam said he had addressed his concerns with Sanzar referees controller Lyndon Bray as part of the normal review process, and he was confident that it would be dealt with appropriately.
Asked what his main grievances were, Lam made it clear that he believed the officials hadn't given his side a fair go.
"A lot of things were called up, and a couple of them led to tries. It was things we were called up for and the other team wasn't.
"We sort of feel like the game was managed by Paul Marks, James Leckie and Phil Waugh," he added, referring also to the veteran Waratahs skipper
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Originally Posted by BDAVEY
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