World Rugby has no plans to issue a public explanation of the decision not to award Scotland what would have been a winning try against France.
Scottish Rugby called on the governing body to acknowledge that a game-defining mistake was made in the last seconds of Saturday’s Six Nations game.
But World Rugby will be sticking to its stance of not commenting publicly on specific officials’ decisions and is not expected to issue any clarification to clear the situation up in the public domain.
The SRU argued that the integrity of the tournament was in danger of being compromised when referee Nic Berry and TMO Brian MacNeice appeared to U-turn on their decision to award Scotland the try.
It wished to know how that process played out and wanted World Rugby to state that an error was made.
With Scotland trailing 20-16, Sam Skinner ploughed through from close range in search of the try the hosts needed at Murrayfield.
Berry’s initial on-field decision was that the Scotland forward had not grounded the ball on the try-line. MacNeice then advised Berry that video replays showed the ball had, indeed, been grounded.
Seconds later, MacNeice appeared to back-track, which sparked the change of direction from Berry, who ruled that there was no conclusive proof after all that Skinner had definitely scored.
“The dialogue between the referee and the TMO made no sense,” said a source close to the situation.
The SRU questions the decision and the message it sends. With the arrival of Netflix and the creation of their fly-on-the-wall series, Full Contact, rugby is attempting to expand its traditional fanbase and appeal to new audiences.
The confusion at the end of the game on Saturday may confuse people that the game is trying to reach, said the source.
“There is a need for lessons being learned so that it never happens again. This is not about Scottish Rugby being belligerent.”
As part of standard post-match protocol, Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has written to Joel Jutge, head of referees at World Rugby, and Phil Davies, director of rugby at the governing body.
Townsend felt aggrieved after week one when referee Ben O’Keefee awarded 16 penalties against Scotland and only four against Wales at the Principality.
The coach queried some of O’Keefee’s decision-making, which is normal practice. Coaches nearly always ask for clarification around certain incidents in Test matches.
At the heart of Townsend’s message this week would have been that late controversy, which has been talk of European, if not world, rugby ever since Saturday.
