These flawed laws have to change
touched by Australia’s Nick Phipps and Law 11.3(c) states that a player can be put onside by an opponent who intentionally plays the ball.
‘It is important to clarify that, under the protocols, the referee could not refer to the television match official i n this case and therefore had to rely on what he saw in real time. In this case, Law 11.3(c) should have been applied, putting Welsh onside.
‘The appropriate decision, therefore, should have been a scrum to Australia for the original knock-on.’
The statement made no mention however of Joubert’s decision to race from the pitch at full time, with many commentators and former players labelling his actions as disrespectful.
The head of World Rugby, Brett Gosper, was widely criticised yesterday when he flip pantly suggested Joubert was ‘maybe keen to get to the bathroom’.
Instead, the statement went on to praise the ‘ very high’ standard of officiating at this tournament, with World Rugby high performance match official manager Joël Jutge declaring: ‘ Despite this experience, Craig has been and remains a world-class referee and an important member of our team.’
But, s peaking to t he BBC yesterday, former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings reiterated his anger at the referee’s swift exit, saying: ‘He sprinted off the field at the end of play like Usain Bolt — as though his life was under threat.
‘That was unworthy of a game of that magnitude. It was unworthy of the game of rugby. I hope he doesn’t get another game of international rugby.’
Joubert certainly will not feature in the tournament again following such a high- profile mistake. Instead English referee Wayne Barnes and Frenchman Jerome Garces have been awarded the semi-final ties, suggesting that Welshman Nigel Owens is in pole position to referee the World Cup final at Twickenham on October 31.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika jumped to the defence of Joubert and repeated the claim that the referee had been the target of missile throwing, saying of his swift departure: ‘ Someone threw a bottle at him, didn’t they?
‘I’d be racing off too if I saw a bottle coming. I don’t think anything of him going off quickly. I don’t like the way that people are making something out of the way he ran off the field. You’ve got to assess the things for what they are and not the more romantic nature of what we’re all thinking. He’s just a person like everyone else.
‘He gave it as a penalty. It’s been pretty interesting to see how things have gone down. I’ve been really interested to see some of the rhetoric that has come out about officialdom over the week.
‘ I know that’s the point that everyone’s focusing on but no one is congratulating Joubert for picking up the tiniest knock- on before we scored the try in the corner and going back to the TMO.
‘Some decisions you’ll get and some decisions you won’t. Everything in rugby i s open to interpretation because everything in rugby is a contest.
‘And that’s the great thing about rugby: it’s a contest sport.’
Former South Africa captain Bobby Skinstad al so supported t he under-fire official and added: ‘I know Craig very well. He is a man of unquestionable integrity and a fantastic referee.
‘Craig is a very tough guy and a good guy. His background is a lot more complex than people realise.
‘His father Des was an outstanding referee and made a decision from a young age to take up refereeing full time. He made such an impact on so many schoolkids’ lives and he was bit of a legend in the KwaZulu-Natal area. ‘Des passed away from cancer and Craig has dedicated his refereeing career to the memory of his father.
‘Craig is a quality individual and all the stuff around the decision has been blown out of all proportion. ‘I’d feel really sad if any of this has got to him as a person given he has given so much to the game.’ The SRU made no comment last night in the wake of World Rugby’s review.