Iain Henderson was incredibly hard done by this afternoon as he was denied a try, despite placing the ball perfectly on the Italian try line.
The Ulster lock looked to have scored Ireland’s first try of the afternoon, but TMO Romain Poite deemed that Henderson had knocked the ball on.
However, replays showed that the ball was successfully grounded, leaving Henderson looking utterly baffled as to how he wasn’t awarded a five-pointer.
“Thank you very much. End of discussion.”
Iain Henderson thought he’d scored Ireland’s first try, but nothing given. Ringrose did touch down just minutes later.#ITAvIRE #GuinnessSixNations #VMTVRugby pic.twitter.com/r9o9ULZu0i
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 27, 2021
Sexton protested to referee Raynal, but was quickly shot down by the Frenchman who explained that his TMO had already made a decision.
“You can ask me questions and I will give you the answer. We checked in the background. My TMO has checked and he says he (Henderson) has lost control of the ball. Thank you very much. End of discussion,” Raynal said.
‘Mind blowingly incompetent’
Pretty much everyone sitting at home had a different view of the decision however, with several former internationals expressing their bewilderment at the decision.
How on earth can they miss that? Mind blowingly incompetent.
— Andrew Trimble (@andrew_trimble) February 27, 2021
Romain Poite being Romain Poite on TMO duty and missing a clear try for Henderson!! Must have been getting a coffee…… #ITAvIRE pic.twitter.com/hIUmKHkF24
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) February 27, 2021
I’m still confused how they missed Henderson try!?!
Direct and quick play from ireland in the opening exchanges #ITAvIRE
— jamie heaslip (@jamieheaslip) February 27, 2021
The missed try didn’t make much of a difference in the end as Ireland scored a try through Garry Ringrose a couple of minutes later, and eventually eased to a 38-point win over the Italians.
Ireland will take on Scotland in two weeks time at Murrayfield Stadium in the next round of the Six Nations, where they should plenty of confidence after a much-improved attacking performance in Rome.
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