Yeah, but be careful with the expression "extended cleanout" fp. If you start introducing weasel words to describe outrageous rule breaking, then where will it end? I reckon the in-your-face approach to the All Blacks tactics has worked well over the past year, and I think - if the iRB are serious - that refs are becoming intolerant of it (as you suggest) at just the right time.
But Scarf isnt this the nub of the entire issue, Some call it cheating, others say stretching the law, others see nothing wrong with it. Of all the rules this should be an easy one for a ref / ar to pick up but they dont seem to be that bothered. Ergo they dont see it as material in the context of a particular phase of play. In Auckland the Wobs began to be more aggressive in the clean-out, eg Simmons in particular seemed to emulating Ali Williams, ;-0, in Brisbane the Wobs fwd pack took it to another level and cleaned out, held and went past the ball looking every bit like the ABs from the week before, did they get pinged? - no, because imho the ref viewed it as part of the dominance they had established by getting away to a good start. I am sure I could cherry pick several early engagements and accuse the wobs of cheating also, but the point is they took their chance right from the outset, pushed the envelope and rightly benefited from being aggressive and positive. Sometimes I think the result of a game is actually set in the first 2-3 minutes and Brisbane was a great example of this
