Are we becoming a nation of whingers? I ask this question because of criticism of referees by two of our most prominent coaches, Michael Cheika and -Stephen Larkham.
Cheika constantly questioned decisions by the referees - -Romain Poite, Craig Joubert and Nigel Owens - in the Wallabies' 3-0 whitewash by England in   June.
While Cheika was careful not to blame the refereeing for the Wallabies' losses, the criticism -created the impression that it had contributed to the defeats. 
Larkham was far more blunt after the Brumbies' controversial 15-9 loss to the Highlanders in the Super Rugby quarter-final in Canberra last Friday night. Referee Angus Gardner disallowed a -potentially match-winning try to replacement Brumbies winger Lausii Taliauli in the 74th minute on the advice of TMO George Ayoub, who ruled the grounding of the ball in goal was inconclusive.
It was not inconclusive in Lark-ham's mind. He said it was "clearly" a try and that the Brumbies should be in the semi-finals. Of course, he assumed five-eighth Christian Lealiifano would have kicked the conversion to give them a one-point lead and he also assumed the Highlanders would not have scored in the closing minutes.
I have studied the replay of -Taliauli's no-try about 50 times. It was only clear that he scored if you were watching through navy blue, white and gold binoculars.
From the camera angle behind the play it is clear that Taliauli's momentum carries him over the line and you would assume he has scored, but we have not yet seen the ball on the ground.
The front angle shows Taliauli being tackled just short of the line by Highlanders winger Patrick Osborne, but by the time he crosses the line the ball is obscured by defenders. Gardner, meanwhile, has slipped over in-goal and stays at ground level, peering into the pile of bodies blocking his view.
You could ask where else could the ball be? But you cannot categorically state the ball has been grounded. Ayoub was left with no choice but to disallow the try. In fact, the replay suggested to me that Laussi lost control of the ball before he crossed the line. Given Gardner was playing advantage for a Highlanders' infringement, the Brumbies would have received a penalty anyway even if he was deemed to have lost the ball.
Spooked by the Highlanders picking off their lineout, the Brumbies decided to take another 5m scrum and it was in these final minutes that the result was determined. The Brumbies had more than enough time to score a match-winning try, but they were not good enough. The Highlanders' defence drove them back 15m.
It would have been good for Australian rugby to see the Brumbies advance to the semi-finals, but it would have been a travesty of justice had the Highlanders lost the game. Despite wet and windy conditions, the Highlanders played all the rugby and bombed at least three tries in the first half. If it had been a dry track, they would have carved up the Brumbies.
I can appreciate the frustrations of Cheika and Larkham when things do not go their way. They are only human. Cheika was outsmarted by England's Aussie mentor Eddie Jones, which would not have been much fun, especially as "Beaver" kept taunting him about being the "world's best coach".
And Larkham was under enormous pressure this year. I have heard that after the dramatic departure mid-season of Brumbies chief executive Michael Jones that Larkham has had to carry some CEO-type duties such as player contracting. If this is correct, I am sure it is a burden he could have done without.
The ARU is also pressuring Larkham to leave the Brumbies and become a fulltime Wallabies assistant coach under Cheika.
If any coaches should avoid criticising referees, they are -Cheika and Larkham after the get-out-of-jail card Joubert gave them in the World Cup quarter-final against Scotland last year.Blaming the ref is not going to help the Wallabies, the Brumbies or any Australian team.