Nigel Owens: Why the Springboks got lucky with disallowed James Lowe try

Former international referee Nigel Owens insists that the television match official should not have adjudicated on James Lowe’s try.

In the first Test between South Africa and Ireland in Pretoria, the match was finely poised with the hosts leading 13-8 after 57 minutes.

The Springboks had possession of the ball just past the halfway line, but the visitors managed to turn it over and send Lowe scampering away down the left-hand side to score.

That seemed to level the clash at 13-13 with a conversion to come, but TMO Ben Whitehouse intervened stating that an offence had been committed by the Irish at the breakdown.

Big moment in the match

After consultation with referee Luke Pearce, the try was ruled out and the Boks went on to secure a 27-20 triumph, but Owens claimed that Whitehouse was wrong to bring it to the referee’s attention.

“This is not what we want the TMO to be coming in for. The TMO shouldn’t be coming in here because it’s what we call a very grey area,” he said on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch.

“It’s very, very technical and it’s not a clear and obvious offence. What we want the TMOs to do is come in when there’s a clear and obvious error, 100 per cent beyond any debate whether an offence has taken place.

“In this instance it isn’t. It’s very, very technical and an offence we would be playing on from anyway. In this instance, the try should have been allowed to stand because the TMO should not have come in for something like this.”

Fellow former referee Jaco Peyper, who became part of the Springboks backroom staff after hanging up his whistle, disagreed with Owens.

“I think if it’s a technical infringement but if it’s a player making a decision to go off his feet, I think that’s under a cynical infringement rather than a technical infringement,” Peyper said earlier in the week.

‘We would have felt aggrieved’ – Jaco Peyper weighs in on crucial TMO decisions during Springboks v Ireland

Kolbe’s score

Owens also delved into Cheslin Kolbe’s score after the wing latched onto a loose ball when Lowe prevented it from going out.

The Ireland wing’s foot was very close to touching the ground but the former Test referee stated that, on this occasion, the TMO was correct to give the try, although he did query the original question from Pearce.

“This really, really is a tough call for a TMO or any match official to make because it really, really is a matter of not just inches but centimetres,” he said.

“The referee gives an on-field decision and awards the try, but he asks the TMO to check if he was in touch or not.

“What the TMO must have now is compelling evidence to overrule, so he must clearly see, ‘Yes, he is definitely in touch.’

“Some of you may well correctly say, ‘yes, we think he’s in touch’, others may also correctly say, ‘we think he’s not’, and therefore there’s no compelling evidence to say the on-field decision needs to be overturned.

“It probably would have been better if the referee had asked, instead of giving an on-field decision of a try: ‘Can we check please if the foot is in touch?’ You then get rid of the on-field decision and just ask the simple question, ‘Is his foot in touch?’”

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