Referee admits France vs England penalty decision was 'wrong'

“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.

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Steve Borthwick was distinctly unamused on this one, and he has a point.”

“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.”

“An explanation is needed as to how that fits the TMO protocol.”