A retired Test-level referee has branded a \u2018massive\u2019 decision taken by Ben O\u2019Keeffe in last Saturday\u2019s British and Irish Lions first Test with the Wallabies as \u201cbaffling\u201d and \u201cmystifying\u201d. <\/p>\n
Andy Farrell\u2019s tourists were comfortable winners against Australia, despite just eight points separating the teams at the finish in Brisbane. A late rally saw the Wallabies<\/a> reduce the margin of defeat to 27-19 following a couple of tries viewed as consolations.<\/p>\n However, former IRFU referee Owen Doyle<\/a> believes the match might not have been so one-sided if O\u2019Keeffe and his support officials reached a different outcome on the hour mark when reviewing a tackle involving Ben Earl.<\/p>\n The scoreboard read 24-10 when the clock was stopped in the 60th minute to review the play that ended with Joseph Suaalii<\/a> touching the ball down over the Lions\u2019 try line.<\/p>\n \u201cA massive turnaround\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n A score then could have ignited the Wallabies with a quarter of the match still to play, but the decision reached was that Suaalii should have released the ball before getting over the line and \u2018no try\u2019 was the ruling.<\/p>\n Doyle\u2019s take on the situation was that Earl, the Lions\u2019 sub back-rower, should have been penalised for his chop tackle on Suaalii some moments earlier.<\/p>\n Writing in his Irish Times column<\/a>, Doyle said: \u201cAt a crucial moment, Joseph Suaalii had a try disallowed. The officials took an age to rule it out.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought they would then penalise the Lions\u2019 Ben Earl for a low, no-arms dangerous chop tackle on Suaalii, just moments before. It was another occasion when a Lions player flirted with a yellow card.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was similar to the modus of Luke Cowan-Dickie, a renowned specialist in this area, who, not for the first time, knocked himself into oblivion in the Lions\u2019 match against the AUNZ Invitational XV.<\/p>\n \u201cThe officials somehow concluded that Earl had used his arms \u2013 both of them. It was a baffling, mystifying call when compared to what the replays showed.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the officials did notice that Suaalii had not released the ball, just prior to getting over the line. With Earl on a generous get-out-of-jail card, it meant a relieving penalty kick for the Lions. It was a massive turnaround.\u201d<\/p>\n David Campese on what should \u2018really worry\u2019 Lions after win over \u2018weak\u2019 Wallabies and the changes he would make that requires Andy Farrell \u2018rethink\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n