Wales head coach Warren Gatland has described the referee change during his side’s quarter-final defeat to Argentina as “disruptive”.
Gatland’s side exited the Rugby World Cup after a 29-17 defeat in Marseille.
Karl Dickson, who began the game as an assistant, was pressed into duties with the whistle after referee Jaco Peyper suffered an injury after 15 minutes at the Stade Velodrome.
Dickson later decided that Guido Petti’s clearout of Nick Tompkins did not merit sanction, moments before Joel Sclavi punched over for a crucial score.
And while emphasising that he was not criticising Dickson, Gatland believes that the switch was significant.
“It probably didn’t help the referee getting injured,” the Wales head coach replied when asked why he felt his side had let a 10-0 lead slip. “That was a little bit disruptive in terms of the game.
“We were 10-0 up, thinking that we could have taken a couple of the opportunities presented to us, and unfortunately we gave away a couple of soft penalties that allowed them to go in with a couple of those before half-time.
“It does throw you off. We were comfortable with Jaco Peyper and the relationship we have with him in terms of his control of the game. It is nothing against Karl but you do a lot of analysis through what referees tend to be tough on, what they look for.
“We hadn’t really prepared for the change. Sometimes that happens in the game and you’ve just got to deal with it.”
Sclavi’s second half try nudged Argentina back in front after Tomos Williams’ sniping score had put Wales in the ascendancy.
But two minutes beforehand, Petti’s shoulder made direct contact with Tompkins’ head at a ruck close to the Welsh line.
Referee Jaco Peyper was forced off with an injury— (Getty Images)
TMO Marius Jonker called for an official review, but agreed in consulation with Dickson that the incident was not even worth a penalty - ruling that the arriving Argentina lock had been making a legal challenge and only made head contact due to a significant change in height from Tompkins.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in terms of the feedback from the panel,” Gatland said of the incident. “If he felt that Nick had dropped his height, and said it wasn’t foul play…I’d need to go back and have a look at it.
“I probably feel it is at least a penalty situation. Then, on the back of that, we felt Dillon Lewis was on the ball for a significant amount of time before they ended up scoring their try as well. Sometimes those things happen in a game. Big moments can swing things. That’s just the way it is.”
Argentina will play Ireland or New Zealand in the first semi-final on Friday.
