A knock-on by Sevu Reece was missed by officials, leading to the Crusaders' match-winning try against the Brumbies. Photo / Sky Sport
A knock-on by Sevu Reece was missed by officials, leading to the Crusaders' match-winning try against the Brumbies. Photo / Sky Sport
A former Wallabies midfielder has lashed out at a crucial officiating decision that resulted in the Crusaders beating the Brumbies in Canberra on Friday night, calling it “disgraceful”.
In the 75th minute of the game, as the visitors trailed the Brumbies by three points, All Black and Crusaders winger SevuReece knocked the ball on while trying to pick it up from the base of a ruck.
New Zealand referee James Doleman allowed play to continue, saying the ball “came off the foot”.
The play led to a penalty for the Crusaders and a subsequent try by replacement hooker George Bell off the back of a driving maul to put the visitors in front 33-31 with three minutes to play.
Kiwi assistant referee Fraser Hannon also failed to intervene in the missed knock-on decision, which ultimately saw the Crusaders finish in second place on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder – one spot ahead of the Brumbies.
Speaking on Stan Sport after the game, former Australian international and rugby commentator Morgan Turinui called it an “absolute gaffe” of a refereeing decision.
“Got it completely wrong, James Doleman, about it coming off the foot, but his assistant referee [Hannon] has a clear view and has to step in and fix an absolute gaffe that quite simply cost the Brumbies the game, cost the Brumbies a home semifinal and completely changes the make-up of this competition.”
Turinui went on to call the decision “disgraceful” and “not up to the standard required at Super Rugby Pacific [level]”.
A knock-on by Sevu Reece was missed by officials, subsequently leading to the Crusaders' match-winning try against the Brumbies. Photo / Sky Sport
“It quite simply cost the Brumbies second spot on the ladder and really hampers their chance of winning the comp.”
Asked what the recourse for the decision should be and if the officials should miss out on refereeing the Super Rugby finals, he said, “I wouldn’t have thought James Doleman is in the top two or three referees anyway.
“So I wouldn’t expect to see him. I thought he had a poor night at breakdown.”
The Brumbies, whose third-place position on the ladder has been solidified, will host a home playoff in the first round of the competition’s finals next week. They would be disappointed, however, with the Crusaders being in a better position heading into the semifinals.
“It’s revenue for the Brumbies organisation, it’s home-ground advantage, week two of the semifinals,” Turinui continued.
Speaking to Stan Sport, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said the decision was a “crucial mistake”, but sympathised with the officials.
“Obviously there was a knock-on here from the winger before they kick into the corner and they score,” Larkham said.
“We can’t do much about that, like we know the referee’s going to make mistakes, and that’s a pretty crucial mistake from our perspective.
“It was a live call that went their way and we probably had a couple in the first half and we probably had a couple in the second half as well.
“But there was certainly a lot of contests at the breakdown and from a referee’s perspective, when you’re so focused on the breakdown, sometimes you miss some other things around the park.”
