Nigel Owens has delivered his verdict on the huge refereeing call that caused uproar in the Rugby Championship clash between Australia and New Zealand.
French official Mathieu Raynal sanctioned Bernard Foley for time-wasting as the Wallaby fly-half went to kick the ball to touch from a final-minute penalty in front of his own posts with the green and golds leading 37-34 in the latest round of the southern hemisphere tournament.
All Australia’s worst sporting nightmares then came true as the All Blacks went over for a try that won them the game at 39-37. Cue outrage from Pine Creek to Wagga Wagga.
Read more: The 15 classic Nigel Owens one-liners that made him the most popular referee in the world
The Sydney Morning Herald said the decision would be “debated for decades”. In Australia, a writer contended, the issue would be whether Raynal’s call was “an all-time shocker, or if it was simply an absurd howler”.
TV commentators dubbed it ‘ridiculous, unbelievable’ and said they hadn’t seen anything like it before.
And new footage, described as explosive by Australian streaming service Stan Sport, has emerged of furious Australia skipper Nic White reportedly telling Raynal immediately after the game: “Mate, that just just cost us the Rugby Championship.”
Headline writers have referred to it as the worst decision in history. Now Owens, who refereed the World Cup final in 2015 and built a reputation as one of the game’s most admired officials in history, has given his take on matters, one that is supportive of the referee, who repeatedly prompted Foley to play before awarding New Zealand a scrum.
On social media, Wales Online columnist Nige tweeted: “As so many of you have been in touch to ask. Clear communication and warning to the player to get on with it. A fair and strong refereeing call [by] Raynal I feel. Learning here is not for the referee, but the players to get on with it when ref asks.”
In response to another Twitter user, he added: “I don’t think there can be much argument when you listen to the audio posted on it. It’s pretty clear to me. Other referees may well have ignored this but to me that would not be doing your job as a referee. Players now should all be aware and not delay or waste time.”
However, there’s a high probability Raynal has blown any hopes he had of winning the Mr Popularity award in Australia in 2022. While accepting the official was within his rights to penalise Foley for time-wasting, former Wallaby coach Alan Jones took aim at referees generally, saying they are ruining rugby.
And he wasn’t exactly respectful of Raynal, referring to him in a wider context as “this little pipsqueak from Paris”. You can read more about the incident here.
Whatever, there is one certainty to come out of the affair, and that is that Foley will think twice before dithering if his side are awarded a penalty when narrowly ahead in the final minutes of a Test again.
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