Three former Springboks have weighed in on crucial refereeing calls late in the Investec Champions Cup last-16 clash between Toulon and the Stormers.
The Cape side suffered an agonising 28-27 defeat at the Stade Mayol as the hosts escaped punishment for several late infringements.
On the Boks Unpacked podcast, Schalk Burger, Hanyani Shimange and Jean de Villiers insisted that two late incidents warranted penalty tries.
Burger did not mince his words when assessing the first flashpoint.
The Stormers were trailing 28-20 with eight minutes remaining when a maul hurtling towards the Toulon tryline was brought down illegally. Referee Christophe Ridley yellow-carded the offending player but only awarded a penalty to the visitors.
“Stormers maul, they are going to score a try. Illegal sack, yellow card but no penalty try … That should have been a penalty try,” Burger said. “Every single decision like that we’ve seen over the last five years, it’s penalty try, bin [yellow card]. Seven points.”
“That’s a dreadful decision,” added Shimange. “That thing was running to Saint-Tropez. The ball was going out the stadium. There’s no way the Stormers collapsed that themselves. That’s a penalty try all day long.”
WATCH: Ref made dreadful decisions – Mallett
The debate intensified around the last play of the game, which ended with match officials ruling that Stormers lock Adré Smith had been held up over the tryline.
“[Toulon lock] Matthias Halagahu went and tackled one of the Stormers players from the side,” Shimange said. “That is a penalty try all day. You can’t debate that.
“[Toulon flank] Charles Ollivon is playing off his feet from an offside position. That’s a controversial one. Was he allowed to play there? If it was an act of scoring a try, then that’s also a penalty try.”
Burger added: “No foul play can take place in the act of scoring a try. If that’s illegal, then that’s also a penalty try. You can’t debate that.”
MORE: Dobbo fumes over ‘frustrating’ ref calls
De Villiers pointed to a lack of consistency in officiating that is damaging the game.
“The frustrating thing for me is you see something, you see a decision made, and the following week it’s different,” he said. “You never get a conclusive report back to say this is why it wasn’t or this is why it was.”
Burger added: “If there’s a technicality we’re missing, fine, educate us. But if for five years that’s a penalty try and suddenly it’s not, then we’ve lost alignment.
“That alignment is key for all of us in rugby to understand and enjoy it. Otherwise you’re going to get fallout like this.”
ALSO: Toulon’s Brex ‘stunned’ by Stormers’ approach
Photo: Federico Pestellini/INPHO
The post Ex-Boks blast ‘dreadful’ calls in Stormers defeat appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
