World Rugby officials have called for greater respect to be shown towards referees following the furore over the pivotal late call in Saturday’s second Test between Australia and the British & Irish Lions. Alan Gilpin, World Rugby’s chief executive, believes the mental health of match officials needs prioritising and has described the post-game outburst by the Wallabies coach, Joe Schmidt, as“disappointing”.
The call by the Italian referee Andre Piardi to allow the Lions’ match-clinching late score was criticised by Schmidt, who was unhappy with the decision not to penalise Jac Morgan for a clear-out just prior to Hugo Keenan’s try. A routine post-match review of the officiating is continuing but Gilpin says public criticism of match officials is unfair on those at the sharp end.
