World Cup final referees Nigel Owens and Wayne Barnes have backed Italian referee Andrea Piardi’s controversial call that handed the series to the British and Irish Lions on Saturday night.
The Lions won 29-26 victory in the second Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground amidst incredible drama as Pairdi and is team reviewed a clean-out by Jac Morgan on Carlo Tizzano.
Owens, a Welshman like Morgan,described the decision to allow Hugo Keenan’s try to stand as “perfect” and “textbook” refereeing.
Coaches Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt had opposing views of the call, as did former Wallaby Michael Hooper and ex-Lions ace Martin Johnson on Stan Sport. Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has called on World Rugby to explain the call.
“It was the perfect clearout,” Owens told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.
Schmidt raised Law 9.20 as his reason why Australia should have received a penalty for the clean out on Tizzano.
The law states: “A player must not charge into a ruck or maul without binding onto another player.”
It also states that “making contact above the line of the shoulders with an opponent is a dangerous play and is prohibited”.
“I know some people in Australia are quoting the law and saying he is going in low,” said Owens, who refereed 100 Tests including the 2015 World Cup final.
“There are a lot of experts on social media and a lot of pundits who think they are experts at refereeing as well.
“There are a couple of things you need to judge here.
“First of all, are Jac Morgan’s actions legal? Is he coming in low and are the arms out ready to wrap and clear out?
“If he wasn’t doing that and leading with his shoulder then you have foul play and a penalty.
“His actions are perfect in the way you would expect a player to clean out.”
Tizzano fell backwards holding his head after Morgan’s arrival – with the Wallaby being accused of diving in the UK media.
“There is a chance the Australia player who has come into the ruck has not come through the gate but that’s irrelevant in the outcome because if there was foul play it would trump that,” said Owens.
“The Australia player gets in and he is very low. This happens throughout the game and you see many of these incidents.
“Jac goes in and tries to get in very low or underneath him to clear him out. So it’s textbook clearing out for me.
“The only time this would be illegal is if the Australian player was in that position and Jac was a couple of seconds later arriving and he had time to readjust, then there would be conversations about foul play.
“Because it is relatively dynamic, as the referee has explained, both of them are pretty much there simultaneously.
“The Australian player gets there a split second before, but Jac is already coming in with a legal clearout, so there is no foul play.”
The decision was also backed by 2023 World Cup final referee, Wayne Barnes of England.
Ardie Savea of New Zealand and teammates talk to Referee Wayne Barnes during the Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa at Stade de France on October 28, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
“When Piardi announced the decision of his team over the stadium PA system – a great addition to international rugby, by the way – there was a deluge of noise at the MCG. And there was also a sense of relief on my sofa,” Barnes wrote in a column in the UK Telegraph.
“Dan Biggar, on Sky Sports’ commentary, asked: ‘Where could he go?’ and when Ronan O’Gara was asked what he was seeing, he replied quickly: ‘Very little.’ I couldn’t have agreed more with the two ex-internationals.
“Rugby is a dynamic game with lots of moving parts and yes, player safety is at the heart of everything the game is currently doing, but these things happen. It’s worth re-emphasising that every time there is head contact, it does not mean that there is foul play…
“In post-match discussions, fans and pundits have suggested that the Aussie replacement made the most of the contact, some even going as far as saying Tizzano dived.
As someone who didn’t like tackling, let alone jackalling, I’m not going to pretend to know what being cleared out by someone who is 100kg running at full tilt feels like.
“What I do know is that many people will have their own opinions about the final decision, but I thought it was a decision that showed these three officials have a wonderful feel for the game.”
