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Cape Town - Footage has emerged of Wallabies replacement halfback Nick Phipps performing an unsportsmanlike action during Saturday Test in Wellington.
Click to watch Nick Phipps throw the boot into the crowd
According to the New Zealand Herald website, down 29-9 with just six minutes on the clock, Phipps dislodges the left boot of All Blacks midfielder Malakai Fekitoa while tackling him just outside the 22m line.
Phipps, no doubt frustrated with his side's performance to that point, then throws the boot as far as he could muster into the Westpac Stadium crowd!
Fekitoa was then forced to hobble around bootless until the next stoppage in play.
Tensions are at an all-time high between the All Blacks and Wallabies following back-to-back Bledisloe defeats for the Wallabies, while post match arguments between commentators, fans, and coaches have left the trans-Tasman relationship on rocky ground.
It follows a string of incidents from the Wellington Bledisloe Test which included an alleged eye-gouge from All Black Owen Franks, accusations that Australian coach Michael Cheika was not invited to a pre-match referee meeting, and Cheika himself criticising the refereeing of Saturday's match by France's Romain Poite, saying he was "bitterly disappointed".
The All Blacks and the Wallabies will next face off on October 22 at Eden Park in the third and final - but meaningless - Bledisloe Cup Test.
The All Blacks won the opening Bledisloe Test 42-8 in Sydney.
