Former IRFU referee boss Owen Doyle believes that the Ospreys were robbed of a famous victory after a late try was controversially ruled out.<\/p>\n
With the Welsh region 28-24 down against Ulster with just under three minutes remaining, the scrum-half thought that he had secured them a place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
The score was initially awarded by the referee but the TMO alerted him to a potential forward pass by Owen Watkin in the build-up.<\/p>\n
Despite Watkin\u2019s hands appearing to go backwards, it was ruled out and it was the hosts<\/a> who progressed into the next round.<\/p>\n \u2018Flummoxed\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThis writer\u2019s firm view sees it is a leading contender for the \u2018poorest decision of the season award\u2019,\u201d Doyle, who is also a former Test referee, wrote in his Irish Times<\/a> column.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween them, referee Anthony Woodthorpe and his TMO for the day, David Rose, pulled the rug from under the Ospreys, denying them a famous win over Ulster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is essential that TMOs stick to the protocols which state very clearly that they should only advise the referee on issues which are clear and obvious. This certainly did not meet that requirement. Rose had no rhyme nor reason to get involved.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, the next step for Woodthorpe was to overrule his colleague, right? Not this time. I was not alone in being flummoxed when the referee agreed with his off-pitch official, and that was that.<\/p>\n \u201cA complete misread of the situation and a blot on the competition. If this decision was ever to become the yardstick to measure forward passes, we\u2019re going to see an awful lot of tries ruled out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also important to say that there can be no suggestions of bias, that it was effectively a hometown decision. Nobody should entertain any such sentiment. But, my goodness, there are questions of competence which surely arise.\u201d<\/p>\n Investec Champions Cup: Match officials announced for quarter-finals as Irishman in charge of all-English showdown<\/a><\/p>\n World Rugby\u2019s review<\/p>\n