Wallabies coach Michael Cheika caught up with referee Nigel Owens before the Test against South Africa in Brisbane but only did so to ensure an even playing field given it was the visitors who asked for the meeting.
The meeting was initiated by South Africa and, as per World Rugby regulations, an invitation was extended to the Australians.
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Friday's meeting was only the second time this year Cheika has met with a referee – the other time being when England coach Eddie Jones requested a sit-down ahead of the second Test in Melbourne in June.
Cheika has previously said he does not think a whole lot is gained from the exercise.
The Wallabies, however, were offered to join in on discussions after it emerged the Springboks sought out Owens to chat about a number of issues heading into the Rugby Championship fixture at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday evening.
Cheika was pleased that correct protocol had been followed after dramas were brought up following the second Bledisloe Cup match in Wellington.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen had a pre-game meeting with assistant referee Jaco Peyper, and while it was not with head referee Romain Poite, the Wallabies were upset the invitation was not extended to them, even if World Rugby regulations stipulate this only needs to happen if the main man with the whistle is involved.
Cheika's rival Allister Coetzee and captains Stephen Moore and Adriaan Strauss were in attendance.
"It's nice to be invited to meet the ref," Moore told reporters on Friday. "It's important. It's been something that's been spoken about but I think you can look into it a bit too much. We'll just prepare as best we can for all parts of the game this weekend and the referees will do as good a job as they can."
One of Cheika's major gripes following the 29-9 defeat in Wellington was the treatment of Moore by Poite throughout the game.
Footage emerged during the week of Poite telling Moore to go away when the Australian captain was asking when might be an appropriate time to have a chat about some interpretations or rulings in the game.
Former Wallaby Rod Kafer even went as far after the match as saying there was a "bias" against Australia, highlighted by their inability to communicate effectively with the referee.
Moore, however, said he has reviewed his approach towards match officials.
"You certainly look at it every week, no doubt that's part of reviewing your overall performance is looking at that part of the game as well and it's no different this time around," Moore said. "We've had Nigel Owens a lot so we know what type of referee he is and how he referees the game and every week you get things you need to work on as a team and individually so we've gone and done that."
Assistant coach Stephen Larkham said a meeting with Owens would help to "create a better relationship there" but backed Cheika up by saying the treatment of Moore in New Zealand was not good enough, describing it as an "anomaly".
"I don't think the referees who were involved with that would be happy with the way that they handled that game," Larkham said. "It wasn't something that Steve did during the game, it was preconceived before he went in there. It was two minutes into the game and he [Poite] wouldn't talk to him [Moore] – well, it wasn't that but it was pretty close to the start of the game. We're looking at all avenues just to get a better relationship there. It's not about trying to trick the referee or anything like that, it's just about being able to communicate with the referee."
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