Former referee Owen Doyle has admitted that a key decision in the France vs England match was incorrect, backing criticism from England head coach Steve Borthwick.
Borthwick had strongly opposed the awarding of a penalty try to France, and Doyle agrees there was a crucial error in the build-up.
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Controversial Penalty Try
Doyle explained that the match turned on two major moments, the first being the penalty try awarded by Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli.
“The result hinged on two events. The first one saw the Georgian referee, Nika Amashukeli, award France a penalty try and send Ellis Genge to the sin-bin for collapsing the French attacking maul. In isolation, that was the correct decision.” he wrote in his column for The Irish Times.
However, Doyle believes the officials missed an earlier infringement:
“There is a broader picture. It shows the French jumper being shielded by team-mates as he lands and the maul starts to move forward. That, for me, was the first offence — a penalty to England for obstruction was due.”
He also questioned the role of the TMO, Brett Conran, in the decision-making process:
“It is tricky enough to see at ground level, while the TMO has a bird’s eye view, but, on this occasion, Brett Conran did not seem to offer any concrete advice.”
“Double Whammy” Debate
Doyle acknowledged ongoing debate around awarding both a penalty try and a yellow card:
“There is a school of thought that a penalty try accompanied by a yellow card is a double whammy, and unnecessarily harsh. But it exists to stop players attempting to get away with an infringement, knowing that the bin awaits if they are caught.”
He added:
“Steve Borthwick was distinctly unamused on this one, and he has a point.”
Confusion Over Advantage Call
A second controversial moment involved a change in advantage, highlighted by England captain Maro Itoje.
“There was also confusion for England when a penalty advantage was changed to a knock-on advantage (apparently called during the play by the TMO), prior to France breaking out for Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s fourth try.”
Doyle questioned whether this aligned with officiating protocol:
“An explanation is needed as to how that fits the TMO protocol.”
Overall Refereeing Performance
Despite the controversy, Doyle still praised the referee’s overall performance:
“Apart from these two uncharacteristic incidents the referee was good, in a match with the highest degree of difficulty and intensity. Very few officials could have handled matters equally well.”
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Mail Online brutally ranks England’s FIVE worst performers in the Six Nations
red plenty of scrutiny as performances fluctuated throughout the tournament.
Following the championship, Mail Online released its player ratings, with only five England players receiving a score below 5/10.
Several of those low ratings were influenced by injuries, limited appearances, or difficult matches against strong opposition. Below is a closer look at those players — alongside RUCK’s own verdict on their tournaments.
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Tom Curry – 4/10
Mail Online:
“Played very well on last summer’s Lions tour despite nursing a serious wrist injury. It all caught up with him in this year’s championship. Nowhere near his best, in and out of the side, and then suffered a calf problem in the warm-up to the Italy game. Like Itoje, he also badly, badly needs a rest.”
RUCK Verdict:
Curry was injured against Italy and otherwise produced a fairly average tournament by his usual high standards. Fitness issues clearly impacted his ability to influence games consistently.
