eBusiness Weekly
Scottish Rugby are calling on the sport’s governing body to acknowledge that a game-defining mistake was made in the last seconds of Scotland’s Six Nations game against France.
The SRU say the integrity of the tournament was in danger of being compromised when referee Nic Berry and TMO Brian MacNeice appeared to U-turn on their decision to award Scotland a match-winning try.
The SRU would like to know how that process played out and want World Rugby to state that an error was made.
With Scotland trailing 20-16, Sam Skinner ploughed through from close range in search of the try the hosts needed at Murrayfield.
Berry’s initial on-field decision was that Scotland forward Skinner had not grounded the ball on the try-line. MacNeice then advised Berry that video replays showed the ball had, indeed, been grounded.
Seconds later, MacNeice appeared to back-track which sparked the change of direction from Berry, who ruled that there was no conclusive proof after all that Skinner had definitely scored.
“The dialogue between the referee and the TMO made no sense,” said a source close to the situation.
The communication from Murrayfield questions the decision and the message it sends. With the arrival of Netflix and the creation of their fly-on-the-wall series Full Contact, rugby is attempting to expand its traditional fanbase and appeal to new audiences.
The confusion at the end of the game on Saturday may confuse people that the game is trying to reach, said the source.
“There is a need for lessons being learned so that it never happens again. This is not about Scottish Rugby being belligerent.”
As part of standard post-match protocol, Gregor Townsend has written to Joel Jutge, head of referees at World Rugby, and Phil Davies, director of rugby at the governing body.
Townsend felt aggrieved after week one when referee Ben O’Keefee awarded 16 penalties against Scotland and only four against Wales at the Principality.
The coach queried some of O’Keefee’s decision-making, which is normal practice. Coaches nearly always ask for clarification around certain incidents in Test matches.
At the heart of Townsend’s message this week would have been that late controversy, which has been talk of European, if not world, rugby ever since Saturday. — The Telegraph
