Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has stood behind his angry coach Joe Schmidt and has asked World Rugby to explain the decision that cost the Wallabies the series in Melbourne.
Referee Andrea Piardi and his assistants – Ben O’Keeffe, Nika Amashukeli, and French TMO Eric Gauzins -awarded a last-minute try to Hugo Keenan that was disputed by the Wallabies after Carlo Tizzano was the victim of a Jac Morgan clean-out in the build-up.
The decision has divided the rugby world – mostly down hemisphere lines, with Schmidt claiming the officials had ignored World Rugby’s law 9.20, which states: “A player must not make contact with an opponent above the line of the shoulders.
“Every time the head or the neck is deliberately grabbed or choked, the offending player runs the risk of receiving a yellow or red card.
“Head contact and clean-outs around the neck must be penalised.”
Harry Wilson of the Wallabies and Maro Itoje of the British & Irish Lions speak to a touch judge during the second test of the series between Australia Wallabies and British & Irish Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 26, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Lions coach Andy Farrell, his players, and the travelling UK media were adamant Morgan’s play was fair and Piardi, an Italian referee, had come to the correct conclusion.
Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui unleashed on the decision in the post-match analysis and said Rugby Australia should be asking World Rugby for clarification.
“The referee got it wrong. His two assistant referees got it wrong. The TMO got it wrong,” Turinui said on Stan Sport.
“Joel Jutge, the [World Rugby] head of the referees, is out here on a junket. He needs to haul those referees in and ask for a please explain. If I’m the World Rugby Board that are here, if I’m Dan Herbert, the chair of Australian Rugby, if I’m Phil Waugh, the CEO of Australian Rugby, I’m asking for a please explain.”
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JULY 19: Joe Schmidt, head coach of the Wallabies speaks to Phil Waugh, Rugby Australia CEO during a Wallabies Captain’s Run at Allianz Stadium on July 19, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
Waugh told News Corp: “I was a player. I made plenty of mistakes and players make errors. Referees at times will interpret things differently.
“But I do think there’s a level of accountability and explanation that needs to come with that. And we look forward to that.”
Schmidt had argued that the decision went against World Rugby’s player safety push.
“You cannot hit someone above the level of the shoulders, and there’s no binding with the left arm, the hand’s on the ground,” said Schmidt.
“So that’s what we’ve seen, and we’ve watched a number of replays from different angles.”
Waugh told Nerws Corp “my response is absolutely identical to Joe’s comments in the press conference.
“I played professionally for 13 years and Joe’s coached professionally for 20 years and both our views, and all those organisationally, are very aligned with what Joe talked to in that post-match press conference.
“Probably the number one priority for World Rugby is player welfare and we’ve seen great progress made in that space, and in a lot of ways World Rugby lead world sport in protecting the safety of players.
“So the progress the game has made globally can’t be underestimated. World Rugby should be very proud around their leadership position on player welfare.”
He added: “From our end and, as we talk to transparency with fans and fan engagement, I think that ultimately everyone’s probably looking for a level of accountability.
“I look forward to World Rugby’s response to it.”
Meanwhile The Times reported that the referees, on reflection, were satisfied that they made the right call.
“There is a long process and checklist there to protect the players, and we get criticised when we apply it,” one refereeing source told The Times. “Some actions are unavoidable, dynamic and look 100 times worse in slow motion.”
