Several Australian Rugby League board members may have thrown their support behind embattled coach Ricky Stuart, but the knives are out across the Tasman.
Former Kiwi boss Andrew Chalmers has sensationally called for Stuart to stand down and, with more details of the Sunday morning altercation in a Brisbane hotel foyer emerging; it seems Stuart's future at the helm of the Kangaroos could be short-lived.
Fairfax newspapers are reporting the recollections of a witness who says Stuart "shoulder charged" England referees boss Stuart Cummings out of his war path en route to World Cup final referee Ashley Klein.
Stuart allegedly then called Klein "f---ing cheat" and "the c--- who cost us the World Cup" following some controversial decisions during Australia's 34-20 World Cup final loss to New Zealand on Saturday night.
The Rugby League International Federation has launched an independent investigation in the wake of Stuart's actions, but with the majority of the ARL board supporting Stuart - it's been widely assumed his job is safe.
But should the allegations be upheld when the findings of the investigation are announced on December 9, many within the game will be calling for Stuart to stand down.
"If these allegations are found to be true then he should take the appropriate steps and resign as coach rather than put the RLIF in the awkward position of having to impose sanctions," Chalmers told Fairfax.
"Do people think it is all right for coaches to go around abusing referees simply because they didn't get the result they wanted? Is that the message we want to send to our kids?"
