South African refereeing boss Andre Watson has thrown his support behind Springbok coach Peter de Villiers' assertion that the All Blacks have been cheating in the scrums and getting away with it.
Watson also revealed that before De Villiers fingered Kiwi loosehead prop Tony Woodcock, accusing the No 1 of boring in at the set piece, he had phoned him in South Africa on Monday to check the facts.
"It is a mixed bag, but De Villiers' allegations are justified. The All Blacks are not binding correctly all the time and the referee will also have to look at the straight spine of the scrum to ensure that they are pushing in a forward direction," said Watson this week.
Watson, however, the only man ever to blow two World Cup finals, said that the Springboks were not scrumming "100 percent legally in every scrum either. It's really six of one and half a dozen of the other and the door has been opened for both teams to bore in and do their thing.
"And to say that the All Blacks beat us because they were scrumming illegally every time is not true. They're illegal on occasion, yes, but we're not squeaky-clean either and until we are we can't really point fingers.
"From a purist's point of view there were binding issues and the referee needs to sort it out. Peter and I have spoken about it and he is going to discuss it with (Australian referee) Matt Goddard before Saturday's Test in Dunedin."
Watson said he had also discussed lengthy TMO deliberations over foul play and try-scoring scenarios with Currie Cup referees to speed up the process, following criticism from Sharks captain Johann Muller for delays during last weekend's Bulls-Sharks game.