Referees boss Lyndon Bray has promised the howler that helped the Crusaders salvage a draw against the Hurricanes will not be swept under the rug.

An official Sanzar review of aspects of the controversial 26-26 draw will be held tomorrow and it appears Wellington touch judge Garratt Williamson will be the man in the spotlight.

Bray reiterated his support yesterday for South African referee Jonathan Kaplan’s TMO-assisted decision to award hooker Ti’i Paulo a try in the 84th minute on Friday night.

But he was equally as vigorous in his criticism of the quick throw-in that led to the Crusaders second try, to wing Zac Guildford.

“The lineout from a decision point of view that was clearly wrong,” Bray said. “Unfortunately, with the ball over the touchline, the main responsibility with what happens to that ball rests with the assistant referee.

“As a referee you can’t reasonably be expected to pick that up when you are still dealing with things out on the field. It’s generally accepted that the AR’s role once it’s out is to know what happens to it.

“In that sense Garratt’s got to cop that on the chin and we’ll discuss that with him … in terms of what action we might decide to take, that won’t happen until Tuesday, which is our normal debrief where we decide what we will do about it.”

Williamson allowed Crusaders halfback Andy Ellis to perform a quick throw in despite the ball clearly being touched by the Hurricanes players and reserves.

Williamson has already been in the gun this season with Blues coach Pat Lam launching a furious assault on his officiating after the controversial loss to the Waratahs in Sydney two weeks ago.

Still simmering Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper is sure to be an interested reader when the refereeing allocations for coming weeks are announced.

The Hurricanes have been on the end of highly questionable officiating two weeks in a row, referee Ian Smith’s penalty against Piri Weepu in the final act of their 29-26 loss to the Sharks still not satisfactorily explained.

But Bray said that overall he remained pleased with his team of referees this season and the TMO process despite some controversies.

Though he agreed the Hurricanes had not been lucky in recent weeks, Bray said referees’ calls worked both ways, citing Jeremy Thrush’s first-half try as an example.

“My gut feeling is there was obstruction. Jonathan’s made it clear what he thinks and that is that the Crusaders player ran into the Hurricanes player and could have avoided it. We’ll review that too.

“It’s swings and roundabouts. It’s like anything in sport though, the closer you are to the line the more at risk you are to decisions that go against you costing you potential points or games and that’s just reality.”

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes’ senior players will take a break over the bye week, while those with less game time will play Wellington club rugby at the weekend.

The Hurricanes’ next match is against the Brumbies in Canberra on April 16.