Owens: Jac's clearout was 'textbook'

NIGEL Owens has rubbished claims Jac Morgan’s crucial last-minute clearout on Carlo Tizzano in the British and Irish Lions’ controversial win over Australia was illegal, instead describing it as “perfect” and “textbook".

- JOHN JONES

The Welshman came off the bench in the second Test in Melbourne to play a decisive role in securing the series victory for Andy Farrell's side, as he made a crucial intervention in the lead-up to the final passage of play, which saw Hugo Keenan dive over the line to seal a stunning 26-29 comeback win in the dying moments.

Seconds earlier, Morgan had cleared out Tizzano at the final ruck before the try, with the Wallabies man falling to the ground in dramatic fashion as his teammates and coaches alleged that he had been taken out illegally.

The incident was checked by the TMO, who agreed with the initial decision of referee Andrea Piardi to award the try, with a fuming Joe Schmidt claiming after the game that the decision not to penalise Morgan and disallow the try goes against rugby’s “push for player safety”.

The Wallabies head coach also said one only had to “read law 9.20” to understand why his side should have been awarded a penalty. The law states that “a player must not charge into a ruck or maul without binding onto another player,” and adds that “making contact above the line of the shoulders with an opponent is a dangerous play and is prohibited”.

However, legendary referee Owens has now weighed in on the debate, claiming that Morgan actually carried out the “perfect clearout” with no foul play present.

During an appearance on BBC Radio Wales yesterday morning, the 54-year-old was quizzed on the incident, and said: "There are a lot of experts on social media and a lot of pundits who think they are experts at refereeing as well.

"First of all, what you need to judge is a couple of things here. Are Jac Morgan’s actions legal? So, is he coming in low, with the arms out ready to wrap and clear out?

"If he wasn’t doing that or he was leading with a shoulder, then you would have foul play and you would have a penalty. But his actions are actually perfect in the way you'd expect a player to clean out.”