Nigel Owens: Why Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu escaped a red card despite claims of a second ‘cynical’ infringement

Respected former Test referee Nigel Owens has deemed that Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was “perfectly legal” as the Springboks star escaped a red card in last weekend’s Test.

South Africa’s fly-half was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on early in the clash, a card no one could have complaints about.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu returned to the field just before the end of the first quarter, but the playmaker then took a risk a few minutes later.

Leroy Carter broke down the left-hand side and was well tackled by Kurt-Lee Arendse before the pivot saw his chance to turn over the ball at the breakdown.

He was first to the contact area and then tapped it back, but Ardie Savea was there to pounce and touch down to complete his brace.

The threat of a second yellow card

However, some felt Feinberg-Mngomezulu could have received a second yellow card, claiming that the Boks number 10 came in through the side rather than the gate.

Owens explained that referees are now punishing players for cynical actions even if a try is scored, but for the Welshman, it was a legal attempt at a steal.

“A change in refereeing recently from probably last year, and certainly from when I was refereeing, is that if it is a cynical action now, even though a try is scored, they still want the referees to deal with that cynical action and issue a yellow card,” he said on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch.

“This is not [cynical], this is perfectly legal actually. You could argue, does he put his hand ready and swing round afterwards, rather than coming straight back through the gate? But that’s tight and benefit of the doubt, and I would probably play on.

“That’s not cynical in my view. He’s on his feet and he’s the first man there, and he scoops the ball back. He’s come through the gate before [the ruck is formed].

“If the All Blacks player had made contact and then he does it and the ruck is formed, then he [has infringed].

“Whether they would have deemed it to be cynical, I don’t know, but if they did, he would have gone even though the try was scored, but not so and the correct decision here again: everything legal.”

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Owens also believes that the referee deserves plenty of praise for coming to a quick and correct decision without going through endless replays with the television match official.

Praise for the ref

“The majority of people are always going on, ‘the TMO again, the TMO again’, but this is how difficult it is to see live,” he said.

“As a referee, we should give credit to referees when they base the decision on the clear and obvious. Is that a clear and obvious side entry? Far from it.”

Owens also credited the officials for the early Feinberg-Mngomezulu infringement, which earned the fly-half a yellow card.

Some debated whether it should have been a penalty try for the All Blacks, but the ex-Test ref felt there was cover coming across.

“When I saw this, I was like ‘ooh, this is going to be an interesting one’, but I would probably tend to follow the referee on this,” he said.

“There’s a South African guy there just tracking. Are New Zealand probably going to score? Maybe, and maybe’s not enough, so it was the correct decision I think.

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a probable try. He may well have scored, there is a possibility he would have, but for you to give a penalty try, it has to be probable, so I think the referee got a good call on this one.”

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