Controversial no try ruling leaves Queensland’s Super Rugby Pacific home final hopes in doubt
Queensland Reds captain Fraser McReight has refused to condemn a controversial try-no-go decision as the reason for his side’s 31-21 defeat to the Chiefs; This decision left his home final hopes on a knife edge.
After the half-time siren sounded, the Reds went on the attack at Suncorp Stadium, with Seru Uru making a desperate attempt to get to the line.
The referee ruled that Uru was reprieved, but controversy broke out when it emerged that the TMO had only looked once before backing the decision on the field. As the whistle blew, the image from behind the game hitting the turf appeared on the Queensland Lock’s big screen at Suncorp Stadium.
This led former Wallaby Morgan Turinui to describe the process as “impatient” in his Stan Sport commentary.
“We want the game to speed up” [but] This is not the match, it’s half time. This is a very important decision with huge consequences for this match, the qualification and the whole competition, and it is an easy decision that they need to get right,” Turinui said.
Fellow commentator and Australian Rugby 7s Olympic gold medalist Alicia Lucas added: “They only had one look, that’s the problem, they only looked from one angle. You could see the ball sliding over that white line.”
Had Uru’s effort been rewarded the Reds could have taken a lead at half-time; Instead he would fall behind with a penalty goal after tries from Queensland winger Lachie Anderson to Kiwi No.8 Wallace Sititi on his debut with an ankle injury.
Reds coach Les Kiss was surprised to be told in his post-match press conference that only one point of view was taken into account. “I didn’t see it because we were coming down from the elevator, but they definitely passed from every angle,” he said.
Kiss’s counterpart, Jono Gibbes, said he was in the same boat as Kiss and had not seen the replays, but suggested a desire not to slow down the game was agreed by constantly reviewing the footage at the start of the campaign.
“It looked pretty difficult to me, so we went to the elevator and didn’t see how everything was going,” Gibbes said.
“There are good differences, things like that, but at the beginning of the year I was asked what the whole competition was trying to do in terms of TMO interventions, keeping the game going and supporting the three-man team on the field.
“I think if we continue in that spirit that’s what we all signed up for, so I think everything has been done the right way overall this year.”
It was just one of many moments that had the crowd buzzing as the Reds found themselves on the opposite end of a 12-5 penalty count.
The whistle oppressed them once again after rookie Reds fly Treyvon Pritchard intercepted Carter Gordon’s long pass and showed incredible footwork to tackle All Blacks superstar Damien McKenzie and score in the final five minutes to get them back within three points.
Josh Flook was penalized for entering from the back. But commentators were adamant that the first offense should have been given to Chiefs winger Luke Jacobson for being knocked off his feet.
Queensland, who sit third by 11 points, will need to win their last three games against Force, Drua and Moana Pacifica to claim the final at home and rely on the Chiefs and Hurricanes not giving them bonus points as they beat the Blues and Crusaders.
However, McReight insisted that these decisions were not what determined the outcome of the contest and ultimately believed his side was at fault for being in this position. The Reds lost three lineouts and missed 32 turnovers to the Chiefs’ eight; Their Kiwi opponents, on the other hand, had eight turnovers to the home team’s four.
“It’s a tough situation, I think no matter what happens in these positions, we as players can take better ownership of it to understand the circumstances,” McReight said.
“Actually, we don’t want to linger there; we want to take it out of the referee’s hands. Frankly, he [Uru] He says he dropped it, but that’s another way of looking at it. Just take this away.”
The Reds had a golden chance to avenge the no try in the kick-off, but the Chiefs forced a turnover on their own line. The New Zealand juggernauts worked at the other end to make their strong forward pack work; A well-organized rolling kick allowed Samisoni Taukei’aho to extend the margin.
It took a remarkable pass from Gordon, who returned from a knee injury with half an hour to go, and he released Harry Wilson on the wing to put the Reds back in the hunt, the latter finishing the game with one of his best strikes of the year.
The Wallabies captain fired a no-look pass over his shoulder as he made contact with Joe Brial, who moved away to score. It was ultimately a short-lived moment of joy as Jeffery Toomaga-Allen was given a yellow card for illegal tackle and Taukei’aho’s second try went in almost the same way as his first.
“We knew it was going to be a tough, tight contest. We knew there was going to be more space as the game progressed, so Carter came in and helped create that space,” Kiss said.
“To be fair, we probably missed a few opportunities to pull the trigger ourselves, but the guys kept working on the shape and created opportunities for Carter and his friends to work together.”
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