World Rugby confirms huge mistake in England vs France match

Appearing on

Whistle Watch, World Rugby’s own analysis series, the former Test referee broke down the flashpoint moment that has since prompted Steve Borthwick to call for a review.

England were edged 48-46 in a Super Saturday thriller in Paris, with Thomas Ramos’ late penalty sealing the title for France. But much of the post-match focus has been on a huge decision with 16 minutes remaining, when England led 39-38.

From a scrum, Jack van Poortvliet’s pass was knocked forward by Francois Cros in the act of tackling, with referee Nika Amashukeli immediately signalling a penalty advantage for a deliberate knock-on.

England played on believing they had that advantage — but when they lost the ball later in the phase, play was not brought back. Instead, the TMO stepped in to downgrade the decision to a knock-on, allowing France to counter and score a decisive try.

Breaking it down on World Rugby’s own platform, Owens was clear both on what should have happened — and what shouldn’t have happened.

“Personally, I would have stuck with my on-field decision,” he said on the World Rugby video. “If you are going to change it, then you have to reset things properly.”

Owens explained that once the decision was altered, the referee should have stopped play and awarded England a scrum — rather than allowing France’s try-scoring move to stand.

“For me, the right thing to do would be to go back, knock-on only, scrum England ball. That would have been the fair outcome,” he added.

But the biggest issue, according to Owens, was the intervention itself — especially given the context of the analysis being aired by World Rugby.

“The TMO was outside of protocol. You cannot come in for that — it’s not within protocol,” he said.

Owens also suggested the moment likely had a direct impact on the result.

“France probably wouldn’t have scored from that situation,” he admitted.

While he acknowledged the benefits of technology, Owens warned against over-reliance on the TMO.

“I’d like to see it used more for the act of scoring and let referees deal with the rest,” he said. “Without it, referees would still get most decisions right.”

The fact these comments came via an official World Rugby video has only added further weight to the debate, with England left frustrated after a game that could have swung very differently.