Stormers replacement flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu slots a conversion kick during their Champions Cup knockout match against Toulon on Saturday.
Image: EPCR
The Stormers can feel very aggrieved by the refereeing performance in their Champions Cup knockout match against Toulon on Saturday afternoon in France.
They bowed out of the European competition with a fighting 28-27 performance against their hosts, the home crowd and the match officials, while some errors, especially in defence, cost them early on.
But they will look back at some questionable decisions from referee Christophe Ridley and his television match official Ian Tempest, who denied them three potential tries — one at the death where lock Adré Smith went over from close range, one from replacement loosehead prop Ntuthuko Mchunu also from a pick-and-go, and a potential penalty try off a rolling mauling.
However, three tries by Smith, eighthman Evan Roos, and scrumhalf Imad Khan kept the visitors going until the final whistle.
Ridley decided a rumbling maul was pulled down in front of the try line, but it only warranted a yellow card and not a penalty try. Tempest and Ridley’s decision, when Mchunu burst over the try line, was that the ball separated from his hand when he placed it on the line.
That was just a couple of really questionable calls by Ridley. Late in the game, there was a very high tackle on Wandisile Simelane by Ma’a Nonu, and Ridley looked at it but had to call in his TMO. He relied on the TMO for intervention, although the incident occurred right in front of him. It eventually ended in only a yellow to Nonu, where he made direct head contact with the head of Simelane, which normally warrants a straight red.
But that first half cost the Stormers, despite them only trailing 14-14 at the break.
Toulon kept finding space out wide in the first forty minutes, and the Cape side — normally good at shutting the ball down in the midfield — were having trouble stopping the home team with their linespeed on the defence.
Both tries for the French club in the first half came from exploiting the space out wide, and they found it too easy to circumvent the tackles. However, that second five-pointer in the first stanza should not have been a try.
The Toulon winger chasing the kick clearly knocked the ball on when he beat Stormers winger Leolin Zas on the outside, but referee Christophe Ridley and his assistant ref failed to pick that up. Not even the TMO got involved in it.
There was even a clear tucked shoulder making contact to the face of Oli Kebble of the Stormers, yet it was only a penalty and Ridley and his TMO judged it to be a glance only.
Director of rugby John Dobson can be proud of this performance. And although they did not deserve to lose, they can now focus all their attention on the United Rugby Championship and securing a top-four spot over the next couple of months.
Points scorers
Toulon 28 (14): Tries: Ben White, Gaël Drean, Mathis Ferte, Setariki Tuicuvu. Conversions: Marius Domon, Tomos Albornoz (3). Stormers 27 (13): Tries: Adre Smith, Evan Roos, Imad Khan. Conversions: Jurie Matthee, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Matthee (2).