Nigel Owens says that Dan Sheehan was correctly penalised for attempting to dive over Italy’s defence during the Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium.
The Ireland hooker got away with the action during the 2025 British and Irish Lions Test against Australia but conceded a penalty during the round two fixture last weekend.
From a quick tap five metres from the Italian try-line, Sheehan attempted to launch himself over the Azzurri defence, but they were alert to his intentions with Simone Ferrari and co. hitting the front-rower in the air and driving him backwards.
Dan Sheehan was rightly penalised
Referee Hollie Davidson was quick in her decision-making, penalising Sheehan for his actions. However, that call has caused some confusion with a grey area remaining that a player is allowed to jump in a try-scoring action, but cannot do so in order to avoid a tackle.
Appearing on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch show, Owens dissected the incident with former Wales and Lions winger Alex Cuthbert.
“First up, seven minutes in Dan Sheehan’s penalty for diving into contact. We’ve seen it before, haven’t we?” Cuthbert asked the former referee.
“Yeah, we have and then a ruling came out regarding it, actually,” Owens said, referencing a World Rugby law clarification back in 2022.
“So what you’ve got to do is this: if you’re diving in the act of scoring a try, so like you on the wing when you go diving the corner, that’s fine.
Nigel Owens: Hollie Davidson should have stuck by her ‘decision’ as TMO makes incorrect call
“Now, what you can’t do is dive to avoid being tackled. So, you’re not actually diving for the line. You’re diving to avoid the tackle and then carry on to get over the line – that is not allowed.
“Jumping over into tackle would be deemed to be dangerous play as well, because when you’re diving, technically in law, the tackler is not allowed to carry in the air, but we allow that if you’re in the act of diving to score a try.
“So, quite rightly, they penalised Dan Sheehan here because he jumped to avoid the tackle rather than a natural action to score a try.”
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Italy has a world class front row, but also a world class reserve front row.
And not only at scrum time, they work rate is crazy.#6Nations #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/Kg1Lf6hodd
— Filippo Frati (@filippofrati1) February 17, 2026
Similar incident
By chance, a similar incident occurred during the Chiefs’ Super Rugby Pacific match against the Blues with lock Tupou Vaa’i jumping over the defence in the act of scoring. The try was awarded in this case but a statement from the tournament organisers confirmed that it was the incorrect decision from referee Ben O’Keeffe and his officiating team.
“The review concluded that Vaa’i’s actions constituted leaving the ground to avoid a tackle, rather than simply diving forward to score a try, and that as a result the try should not have been awarded,” the statement read.
Adding: “The relevant law provision is World Rugby Clarification 3-2022: In principle, in a try scoring situation, if the action is deemed to be a dive forward for a try, then it should be permitted. If a player is deemed to have left the ground to avoid a tackle; or to jump, or hurdle a potential tackler, then this is dangerous play and should be sanctioned accordingly.”
Continuing the debate, Cuthbert posed the question to Owens as to what the difference is between diving to avoid a tackle or diving to score a try.
Owens replied: “The difference will be, did you actually dive to avoid the tackle, or is it a natural action to score? When you naturally go for the try line, then that’s fine, but if you’re sort of jumping to avoid the tackler and then getting to the line is another phase in that action, then that would be deemed a penalty.
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“Jonny May did it at Twickenham, where he unnaturally jumped up, landed and then went over – so that is not allowed.”