PARIS: Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has queried the role of the television match official and big screen video replays after confusion caught Australia off-guard in Paris.

The Wallabies were their own worst enemy as they suffered a 29-26 loss to France, leaving them with just one win from their past five Tests.

Errors crippled their chances of winning, even as they launched a last-minute surge to try to steal an unlikely victory.

But a frustrating television replay grey area has cast more doubt over its role in games after New Zealand coach Steve Hansen hit out at the influence of television replays on refereeing decisions, Cheika was left confused by referee Nigel Owens' rulings.

Hansen said: "My biggest concern isn't the TMOs and the refs … my biggest concern is TV producers are starting to have a big influence on games. And it's not the away side [gaining the advantage] I might add."

Wallabies hooker Saia Fainga'a was hit with what appeared to be an illegal cleanout at a ruck. But when Owens asked to see the replay, it was not put on the Stade de France big screen.

A week earlier, Welsh official Owens was in the spotlight again when he second guessed himself and his assistants when there was reaction to big-screen replays at Twickenham.

"I think he just wanted to see it on the big screen himself and they wouldn't put it up," Cheika said of the Fainga'a incident.

"He was asking for it and it didn't come. He said to Michael Hooper if I can't see the replay then I can't do anything about it.

"Then the [lifting tackle] with Sean McMahon, [Owens] basically said you haven't done anything wrong, you didn't tip him over the horizontal but I'm going to penalise you anyway.

"He's got his reasons and I'll ask him later. There was a kerfuffle with the clock as well where it started back up at the last scrum but [Owens] didn't blow time on. That's a little bit disappointing."

Owens twice called on the television match official after repeated replays were shown on the big screen and the crowd went into a frenzy in the New Zealand v England Test last week.

The Wallabies had a chance to snatch a win in the dying stages of the match, but they dropped the ball when pressing for a match-winning try.

From the scrum with one minute left in the game, the Wallabies thought they had put pressure on the French pack to win the ball back.

"We weren't able to relieve pressure ... for the most part we could have avoided them pretty easily," said Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper.

"We knew it was going to be a tough challenge, two years ago [at Stade de France] was a nightmare for us."

Cheika will likely tinker with his line-up for the Test against Wales, using it as an opportunity to test the depth of his squad.

Quade Cooper impressed in 20 minutes from the bench – setting up Rob Simmons for a try and almost conjuring a come-from-behind win – and he could get an increased role this weekend.

"I thought he did quite well when he was out there given the situation of the game," Cheika said.

Lock James Horwill injured his knee in the first half but powered on and it is thought the problem is not serious.

Fainga'a is expected to be fit to play against Ireland, but if he is unable to take his place it would be another blow to Australia's hooker depth, with Stephen Moore, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Nathan Charles already missing.

"I was pretty surprised we were in with a shot towards the end because the way we played shouldn't have put us there," Cheika said.

"It wasn't pretty. I think that's an apt way to describe it."