World Rugby confirms Craig Joubert got it wrong
Following a full review of Monday morning’s controversial quarter final between Australian and Scotland, World Rugby has released an official statement explaining that referee Craig Joubert did in fact make the wrong decision in awarding the Wallabies a match-winning penalty in the 78th minute.
Although Scotland’s Jon Welsh was offside when he made a play at the ball, he was put onside when the ball touched Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps, meaning Australia should have been awarded a scrum for the original knock-on rather than a penalty.
“On review of all available angles, it is clear that after the knock-on, the ball was touched by Australia’s Nick Phipps and Law 11.3(c) states that a player can be put on-side 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 in 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.”
World Rugby High Performance Match Official Manager Joël Jutge said: “Despite this experience, Craig has been and remains a world-class referee and an important member of our team.”
However the controversial decision was enough to see Joubert stood down from this weekend’s semi finals, with Frenchman Jerome Garces to officiate the New Zealand v South Africa match and English referee Wayne Barnes to oversee the Wallabies clash against Argentina.