Reds coach Brad Thorn has questioned the impact that referee calls are having on the growth of the game, after his side’s 39-16 loss to the Blues.

The Reds were twice caught on the end of referee Egon Seconds’ whistle, having wing Jordan Petaia and prop Taniela Tupou yellow-carded for dangerous tackles. During the period when both were off, the Blues scored 13 points to take control of the match.

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The Blues also had two men sent to the sin bin as lock Matiaha Martin and prop Sione Mafileo saw yellow in the second half.

However, Thorn – who did not want his comments to come across as ‘sour grapes’ – said after the match that rugby is heading in a dangerous direction.

‘The game is in an interesting place, isn’t it?’ Thorn said. ‘I don’t know if that’s enjoyable for anyone.

‘Probably the No 1 thing, like for a lot of fans, coaches and players everywhere, it’s hurting the game. The game is getting hurt.

‘If that’s what rugby is, where you slow things down, a lifting tackle where he didn’t drive him into the ground. And Taniela came up, his hands from what I saw were in front of him, and he went in hard and low. If you want to, penalise, but then yellow-card as well?

‘As a 12-year-old, I remember my coach pulling me aside at half-time, “when you pick a guy up, drive him into the dirt”. I’m not saying we do that, but for me, it’s an interesting place. Referees are trying their best,’ the ex-All Black added.

Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images