Henry praises strict referee as All Blacks romp to third victory

Joubert sin-binned All Blacks prop Owen Franks and Wallabies winger Drew Mitchell for seemingly innocuous tackles in the first half, then red-carded Mitchell two minutes after the break for deliberately holding up play.

"I think it's good they're strict. Okay, there might be some debate about some of the decisions, there's always going to be some debate about the decisions," Henry told reporters yesterday.

"What you don't want is referees being soft and therefore you get a game that doesn't flow and there's a lot of illegal stuff happening at the tackle.

"If he's grey at the tackle area or he's grey on people throwing the ball away when the other side wants it, you've got a shambles on your hands. So I think it's good that he's strict and he sticks to what he says he's going to do."

Australia rugby chief John O'Neill didn't agree and has questioned Mitchell's dismissal. "You're scratching your head a bit to think that for 38 minutes we're down to 14 men because Drew, probably stupidly, threw the ball away at (a] lineout," O'Neill said.

"Unfortunately, the referee had given a general warning, but for a test match, it seemed a bit sort of out of kilter that you've lost one man because a player throws a ball away. It's not as though he punched someone or it's a dangerous tackle. But you've got to live with it."

Mitchell, who was cited after the game, avoided further punishment after a hearing yesterday. "SANZAR [South Africa New Zealand and Australia Rugby] Judicial Officer Peter Ingwersen found the sending off was sufficient penalty and decided no further sanction was required," SANZAR said in a statement.

Mitchell, who celebrated wildly after scoring an early try before being sent off, however, was not granted a reprieve by Australian media, who cast him as a villain in the Wallabies' eighth consecutive loss to the All Blacks.

"[The Wallabies] continue to falter under pressure, waste opportunities, have absolutely no idea how to play well two weeks in a row, and believe the task has been done well before it has been completed - as shown by the silly antics when Mitchell scored the first try, only to look damned stupid when he was red-carded 40-odd minutes later," said the Sydney Morning Herald.

Henry said his New Zealand team, who recorded their third win in three games, had played "exceptionally" well in a match that propelled the All Blacks 11 points clear of Australia on the Tri-Nations table.

"There were some dull patches and some mistakes and we'd like to eradicate those if possible, but you have to be pleased with seven tries," said Henry, whose team notched a bonus point before half-time.

The All Blacks head to Christchurch this week for their next Tri-Nations match, against the Wallabies, with only one fitness concern clouding scrum-half Jimmy Cowan, who came off the ground early with a rib cartilage injury.

"Apart from that, I think we're pretty good," Henry said. "I think it'd be a miracle if [Cowan] played next week. He'll probably be right for South Africa [on 21 August]."

Cowan's injury could open the door for Auckland Blues scrum-half Alby Mathewson to be recalled to the squad for the Christchurch match, where New Zealand could possibly seal their fifth Tri-Nations title in six years.

Australia's dwindling backline stocks suffered a further blow, meanwhile, with centre Rob Horne ruled out of the remainder of Tri-Nations after scans in Melbourne yesterday revealed a small fracture in his right elbow.

The 20-year-old, who had been troubled by his arm prior to playing in the weekend defeat in Melbourne, would require surgery for the injury which also included ligament damage.

Horne's place in the 24-man squad heading to Christchurch for the follow-up match against the All Blacks has been taken by Queensland Reds loose forward Scott Higginbotham.

Higginbotham, Western Force loose forward Ben McCalman and winger Cameron Shepherd would all fly to New Zealand today to join the Wallabies after playing for their clubs on

Saturday, the team added. Horne joins injured wingers Digby Ioane and Peter Hynes on the sidelines, while fly-half Quade Cooper will miss the match as he serves out a two-week ban for a dangerous tackle during the Wallabies' win over South Africa last month.