Sri Lanka who played their final game of the Asian 5 Nations last Saturday lost to the Philippines Volcanoes 25 – 26 with a last minute try for the visiting team which caused much controversy and debate.
Alex Aronson missed the conversion that would overtake the Tuskers score much to the delight of the fans and players who charged out in victory. However, to everyone’s dismay the referee called a re-take off the kick which Aronson got through the post correctly on the second attempt handing over the victory to Philippines.
Contention from the referee was that the Sri Lankan players shouted before the kicker approached to kick. IRB law 9.B.3 (a) says “All players of the opposing team must retire to their goal line and must not overstep that line until the kicker begins the approach to kick or starts to kick. When the kicker does this they may charge or jump to prevent a goal but must not be physically supported by other players in these actions. (c ) A defending team must not shout during a kick at goal ; if the opposing team infringers but the kick is successful, the goal stands. If the kick is unsuccessful, the kicker may take another kick and the opposing team is not allowed to charge”.
Video replays do not show concluding evidence of the players shouting which has led most people to believe it was an erroneous call by the referee. The SLRFU seems uncertain as to whether they should lodge a complaint or not.
However in the game of Rugby complaints cannot change the result as the referee’s word is final.
