South Africa coach Peter de Villiers and his New Zealand counterpart Graham Henry will meet with Australian referee Matt Goddard on Friday to discuss officiating standards in the Tri-Nations.

With the two teams due to meet again on Saturday, controversy is still raging from last weekend's clash in Wellington which ended in a 19-8 victory for New Zealand.

De Villiers has been highly critical of the New Zealand scrum, accusing loose-head prop Tony Woodcock of binding illegally - something the All Blacks have strenuously denied.

John Smit was also less than impressed by the tackle from All Blacks lock Brad Thorn, which the Springboks captain said caused the groin injury that has forced him out of Saturday's game at Carisbrook and the match against Australia in Perth the following week.

Thorn escaped punishment on the park but was later suspended for one match, meaning he too will miss this weekend's encounter, but the South Africa camp felt the 33-year-old lock had got off lightly.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry has also entered into the war of words, accusing the Springboks of targeting star fly-half Dan Carter, who was tackled late on several occasions throughout the game.

The arguments prompted the International Rugby Board to initiate tomorrow's meeting - a move welcomed by both teams.

"We just want to know how he's going to interpret some of the laws and how he will play it, especially the collisions, playing on the ground, playing off the feet," De Villers said. "What goes for us must go for them.

"We'll certainly look for a contest, a good, solid, clean contest, where both teams can look at their strengths and weaknesses. There were a few things they didn't allow us to do in last week's Test which took away the contest."

He added: "We're not looking for favours, we are not looking for special treatment, we just want a great contest."

De Villiers admitted the scrum was definitely an area that would be discussed and he warned the Springboks would fight fire with fire if the All Blacks continued with their methods.

"There are a few things that I've picked up that I am going to show on the video to them. If he (Goddard) thinks that's legal then we can do it too," he said.

"It will make a mess for him and for everybody watching the game. If people want to see a messy thing we are prepared to give them one."

The match will be Goddard's first Tri-Nations game in charge and All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith felt the Australian would probably benefit as much as the two teams from the meeting.

"I think this will help him in that he's got an opportunity to establish how it's going to be refereed," Smith said.

"Then it's quite simply going out and applying the law as he interprets it. It's as simple as that.

"I think this is a positive initiative by the IRB. Clearly there has been a lot of discussion so it's a good chance for both camps and the referee to get some understanding and some consistency."

More news from SportingLife.com