Former referee Nigel Owens says that Hollie Davidson was let down by TMO Ian Tempest during the Six Nations clash between Ireland and Italy.
This, after Italy’s Louis Lyangh was denied what he deemed was a perfectly legal try that was ultimately ruled out for a forward pass by Tommaso Menoncello.
The incident occurred in the 51st minute of the match as the Italian centre dummied at the line and escaped the clutches of Jack Conan and cantered into space inside the Irish half.
Just before Ireland’s 22 metre line, Menoncello fired a pass out to his winger but the ball crossed the line before Lynagh caught it, suggesting that it was a forward pass.
Davidson awarded the try live but was soon prompted by Tempest to review the pass and eventually, she conceded to the TMO insistence that it was a clear and obvious forward pass.
It proved to be a pivotal decision in the match as it denied Italy the opportunity to go in front with the scores level at 10 points apiece at the time.
Nigel Owens on Italy’s disallowed try and what he wanted to see from Hollie Davidson
Robert Baloucoune scored a five-pointer soon after to rub salt into the Azzurri’s wounds as Ireland took control of the fixture and held out for a 13-20 victory.
Appearing on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch, Owens says that he wishes that Davidson was more convincing in her decision-making, as she got the call correct on the field.
“So I would have liked Hollie to stick with that decision to say ‘No, this is not clear and obvious for me from what I’m seeing on the screen. We’re sticking with the on-field decision,’” he said when discussing the incident with former Wales and Lions back Alex Cuthbert.
“What do you think Al as a winger?”
“For me, I’m scoring that corner, and for me it’s a try,” Cuthbert replied.
Owens added: “So how fast were they running with the ball?”
“I’d say Menoncello is going be running 20 to 25kp/h at least,” Cuthbert answered.
“So when you’re running at 25kp/h and throwing a pass out to a guy who is maybe 10, 15, 20m away, that ball is travelling the same speed as you. So, as long as that ball leaves your hands flat or backwards – it’s not passed forward – whatever happens, that ball is going to land further forward than where you passed it,” he explained.
Try should have stood
“So in this instance, when Menoncello is running with the ball, it does not leave his hands forward – that’s the key. It leaves his hands fine, but obviously, it’s travelling the same speed as him. So when it goes to the other side, it is then a bit more forward than where it was when it left his hands.
“So what you’ve got to be careful of is that you don’t judge forward passes on the lines on the field because they can really give you an incorrect outcome to the decision-making process.”
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In delivering his verdict, Owens said that the try should have stood, but he understands why Davidson, who was officiating her first Six Nations match, relied on her TMO to lead the decision-making.
“So in this instance here, the ball leaves his hands fine,” he said.
“Even if you’re going to say it’s marginal, it certainly was not clear and obvious enough for the referee to overrule the on-field decision, but they went with the TMO because obviously, he has better views of things. But the try should have stood.”