Fresh twist in Ireland v Argentina ‘invisible knock-on’ controversy as clear footage emerges

Jared Wright
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Referee Paul Williams during Ireland v Argentina during the Autumn Nations Series match at the Aviva Stadium.

Referee Paul Williams during Ireland v Argentina during the Autumn Nations Series match at the Aviva Stadium.

The final moments of Ireland’s victory over Argentina in the Autumn Nations Series clash in Dublin has caused much debate but Planet Rugby has obtained clear evidence.

Los Pumas were chasing a match-winning score after fighting back from a 22-9 half-time deficit, keeping the hosts scoreless in the second half.

A Juan Cruz Mallia try closed the gap to nine points with Tomas Albornoz adding a conversion and a penalty to make it a three-point game.

Controversial call

Ireland went on the attack in the last 10 minutes of the match and put Argentina under the pump, which resulted in a yellow card for veteran prop Francisco Gomez-Kodela that looked to have all but put the final nail in the coffin for the South Americans.

However, a crucial breakdown penalty gave the visitors another opportunity to clinch the victory and they looked to make the most of it as they marched upfield and into Ireland’s 22 where they quickly racked up a ton of phases looking for the winning score.

But Ireland’s defence stood firm and held Argentina with referee Paul Williams spotting a knock-on by Los Pumas forward Joaquin Oviedo at the back of a ruck and the official blasted his whistle to bring an end to the match as Ireland escaped with a narrow three-point win.

That final play of the fixture has been hugely controversial as fans could not clearly see the knock-on in real-time while the TV broadcaster did not show additional angles or replays of the knock-on.

This led to huge backlash online aimed mostly at the officials.

“The face of a man who knows he just ended a game with an invisible knock on,” one fan angrily wrote on social media platform X.

Another added: “Did the ref just make up a knock-on to let Ireland off the hook??”

Ireland v Argentina controversy as ‘invisible knock-on’ saves Andy Farrell’s charges

Clear evidence

However, Planet Rugby has obtained footage of the incident that clearly shows that referee Williams got the decision spot on.

Williams was perfectly positioned to make the call too with the broadcasting images suggesting that he had a blocked view, which was not the case.

Ultimately, the New Zealander got the decision correct as Andy Farrell’s side held on for an unconvincing victory.

Ireland conceded a mind-boggling 13 penalties, more than double the number of the opposition (6), while the attack also stuttered giving away 13 turnovers. Farrell’s men also failed to score a single point in the second half with Argentina able to stifle many of their attacks.

Argentina close out a largely successful 2024 out with a clash against France this weekend while Ireland still have two games ahead of them at the Aviva Stadium, the first against Fiji before reuniting with their old head coach Joe Schmidt with a clash against Australia.

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