Ex-Wallaby Chris Latham says pedantic referees are KILLING rugby

At last. Someone with international credibility and a high profile in the game has come out and confirmed what is being said every weekend in pubs and loungerooms around the world – rugby sucks.

Chris Latham, the dynamic Wallabies fullback who was regarded as one of the most exciting players in the game in the late-1990s and early-2000s, was invited to speak at a media conference to promote the recent Queensland vs NSW Super Rugby clash at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.

The organisers were expecting a stock-standard, 'Reds-Waratahs games are really tough, and this one should be a beauty'- style presentation. Instead, what they got was a 78-Test veteran venting his frustrations at the way pedantic officiating and excessive whistle-blowing is killing the game.

Latham, who scored 211 points in 117 games for the Reds, didn't hold back as he put the boot into the people in charge who have turned rugby into a maze of nit-picking laws, complicated regulations and high-tech interference.

He started by highlighting the case of the Reds' Test front-rower Taniela Tupou, who was cleared of foul play by the referee and Television Match Official (TMO) for an incident during a Reds-ACT Brumbies match, but later cited by ruling body SANZAAR's citing commissioner ahead of the Reds-Waratahs clash.

Tupou was eventually cleared by SANZAAR's Judicial Committee as well, but not before his preparation was disrupted on the eve of the biggest home game of the year.

'It was cleared by the video referee, it was cleared by the ref,' Latham said of the incident. 'The commentary team, who are ex-players, they're experts in the game, they've cleared it, yet SANZAAR still want to keep dragging it through. 

'To have that all cleared and then to have the