It was a try!
No, it was not a try but it should have been. The International Rugby Board has ruled on the ‘try’ Dewaldt Duvenage of the Stormers scored in the opening minutes of their Super 15 match with the Crusaders at Newlands last Saturday – a game the hosts lost by 14-20.
Gio Aplon, carrying the ball, put a foot into touch and Kieran Read took a quick throw-in which Dewaldt Duvenage intercepted and the scrumhalf raced away for a try.
The referee awarded the try. He then saw the assistant referee with his flag in the air and consulted him. The assistant said (twice) to the referee: “Foot in the field of play. Advantage applies.” The referee cancelled the try and awarded a line-out to the Crusaders.
There was much debate around whether or not advantage applied. Chris Pollock, the referee, believed he had made the right decision. André Watson, South Africa’s refereeing boss, believed that it should have been a try because advantage applied.
The SANZAR referees selectors debated the matter in their conference call on Monday and the five – Lyndon Bray, Tappe Henning, Colin Hawke, Andrew Cole and Greg Cooper – referred the matter to the IRB who have now ruled that advantage did indeed apply and that the try should have been awarded.
The dying words of the All Black wing Bob Deans, denied a try against Wales in 1905, were: “It was a try, you know.” Let’s hope Duvenage has a lot of better memories from now on.
Click HERE for the original ‘try/no-try’ debate – including a video of the incident!
