Johannesburg – Western Province coach Allister Coetzee called for the same co-operation enjoyed between players and coaches with the officials during the transition to new scrum laws, be applied to the use of technology.
“We've got the technology and we need to make sure we get it right. We've had good co-operation between coaches, players and officials at the scrums with the new laws, and I'd like to see that when it comes to the TMO as well,” Coetzee said after the game.
His appeal came after a controversial penalty try awarded against his team in their 31-31 draw with the Golden Lions in their Currie Cup match at Ellis Park on Friday night.
The Lions, trailing 10-25, were awarded a penalty try by the TMO (television match official) Willie Roos, in the 48th minute, as fullback Marnitz Boshoff reached for the tryline and Western Province centre Damian de Allende dived in at the ball.
Whether or not Boshoff managed to touch the ball on the line, as he rolled over, was inconclusive on the television replays but Roos shocked both coaching teams by awarding a penalty try for De Allende's “diving in on the side and on the player”.
To make matters worse for Western Province, De Allende was yellow-carded and the Lions' comeback took root.
“The yellow card was a massive moment and I don't want to say a lot about it. But of course it had an influence and we feel the Lions were unfairly given 14 points because there was a clear knock-on in the build-up to their first try,” Coetzee said.
Everything had gone according to plan in the first half, said the coach, with Western Province leading 25-10 at the break, but his team had failed to follow through and win the match.
“We are absolutely disappointed to draw. I was very satisfied with the first half, we executed clinically from turnovers and it went as planned.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann, who described the penalty try and yellow card as a “bonus I did not expect”, said his team were lucky to snatch a share of the spoils. Making a better start would be a focus in the coming weeks.
“I can't ask for more passion and commitment than we showed in the second half, but maybe I can ask for a better start,” Ackermann said.
“It's hard work catching up and we were lucky to do it. You can't do that for 10 weeks in a row.”
The Lions scored four tries and earned three log points from the game, compared with Western Province's two.
“It's true, three log points is a big positive because otherwise I'd have really mixed feelings about a draw. At one stage I thought 'what are we in for here?' but we turned it around and we could've won the match. I'm very proud of the character the team showed.” – Sapa