Call changed after chat with assistant

Assistant referee Jerome Garces convinced Romain Poite to change his decision on the penalty in the final minutes which could have won the test and series for the All Blacks.

Lions captain Sam Warburton has taken the credit for saying Ken Owens’ handling the ball in an offside position at Eden Park was accidental but a private conversation between Garces and countryman Poite, possibly in French, was the “deal-maker”, a deliberate term as the following exchange proves. The drama happened from Beauden Barrett’s restart following Owen Farrell’s penalty which drew the Lions level at 15-15.

It played out as follows, the conversations between players and officials (apart from Garces’) clearly audible on Poite’s microphone.

Barrett restarts with a contestable kick to Lions fullback Liam

77m 54s:

Williams, who knocks it forward and into the arms of Owens under pressure from a leaping Kieran Read.

Realising what he has done, Owens drops the ball immediately and it is picked up by Anton Lienert-Brown, but Poite blows his whistle for a penalty to the All Blacks 30m out.

“Playing in an offside

Romain Poite:

position, 16.” Poite then moves to Jaco Peyper, his nearest assistant referee. “The red [player] touched the ball and 16 got the ball in front.” Poite asks TMO George Ayoub to check Read’s challenge on Williams. “Romain, they are all

RP to JP: George Ayoub:

the angles.”

“Are you happy for the knock-on? Is the challenge in the air fair? And a penalty kick against 16 red for being in front?”

“Yes, I am.”

RP: GA:

After having made up his mind to stick with a penalty for the All Blacks, Poite leaves Peyper but Jerome Garces then gets involved.

“Oui, Jerome.” Poite walks back to Read and Warburton, who are waiting for the decision which will alter the course of the test and the series.

“We have a deal, we have a deal for the offside from 16. He didn’t play deliberately at the ball, okay? It was an accidental offside.”

“No, no, no, no, no.” “It was an accidental offside, we go for a scrum, black.

“Romain, Romain, in the rules there is no accidental offside. If you run into your own man. . .” “The ball touch him. . .” “He caught the ball. . .” “We play, okay?”

RP: RP: Kieran Read: RP: KR: RP: KR: RP: