A spotlight has been placed on the controversial try awarded in the Sharks-Munster match. Photo: Twitter
VIDEO | Sharks-Munster controversy: ‘Terrible officiating’ for key try!
Former coach Swys de Bruin has hit out at the officials for awarding a crucial try to Munster in Saturday’s game against the Sharks.
A spotlight has been placed on the controversial try awarded in the Sharks-Munster match. Photo: Twitter
This past weekend the Sharks played out to what was ultimately an agonising draw against Munster in the United Rugby Championship. At one point during the encounter, the Sharks led by 19 points and looked on track for a resounding victory, and yet a disappointing second half saw Munster fight back to secure a 22-22 draw.
As a result, Sharks progressed through to the URC playoffs, but missed out on Champions Cup qualification for next season.
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However, the match was not without controversy as Munster’s fightback was aided by a crucial try to Munster wing Calvin Nash.
In a SuperSport studio discussion, former Lions assistant coach Swys de Bruin explained the law around whether a player is in touch or not when it comes to grounding a ball in the oppositions tryline, and why the Munster try should never have been awarded.
“Terrible officiating,” De Bruin stated. “The ref was wrong, everyone was wrong. That was not a try!”
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You can watch the video looking at the controversial try in the Sharks-Munster match:
Quarter-finals now confirmed in the URC
The Stormers will host the Bulls in Cape Town and the Sharks will travel to Dublin to face Leinster in their United Rugby Championship playoffs in two weekends’ time following the confirmation of the eight quarter-finalists as the league phase of the competition came to a close on Saturday.
In the other two quarter-finals, Glasgow Warriors will go up against Munster and Ulster will meet Connacht. The dates and kick-off times will be confirmed in due course.
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The Stormers succeed in registering a bonus-point 38-22 victory against Benetton in Stellenbosch on Friday to give them the best possible chance of securing a spot in the top two, but their hopes of achieving this were dashed when Ulster beat Edinburgh, which was enough for them to finish in second place.
The Bulls, meanwhile, finished the pool stages in sixth position following their comprehensive 62-7 victory against log-leaders Leinster in Pretoria, while the Emirates Lions wrapped up their campaign on a high note with a 50-35 victory against Zebre Parma, also in Pretoria.
In turn, the Sharks – in eighth place on the standings – were forced to settle for a 22-22 draw against Munster in Durban, but fortunately they were already guaranteed of a quarter-final place when they entered the field.
In a change to last season’s rules, the teams with the highest seeding in each semi-final, will enjoy hosting rights on the weekend of Friday, 12 May, when the final four teams play for a spot in the final. Previously, the winners of quarter-final one and two were guaranteed home draws no matter their ranking.
These results also saw the Stormers and Bulls seal their places in the Heineken Champions Cup next season.
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